Motion to Amend Internet Gambling Complaint by Kentucky

The Kentucky internet gambling case just keeps getting weirder by the day. On Wednesday, Kentucky Commonwealth attorneys filed a motion to add parties to its original complaint, which the Kentucky State Supreme Court heard in October. A hearing is now scheduled for January 20^th before Judge Thomas Wingate, the circuit court magistrate who heard the original case in 2008.

Kentucky brought the case against 141 internet gambling domain names, arguing that the names constituted “gambling devices”, a term which is normally used to describe tangible items, such as slot machines, tables and such. Items normally found in a land based casino or gambling house. The Kentucky Supreme Court has not yet issued a ruling in the case.

Kentucky is playing extremely tight with information on the case. It has not disclosed names or addressed of people or companies involved to the general public or to the counsel for the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA).

The domain names were seized in September 2008, allegedly without due process. At that time, Judge Wingate ruled in favor of the Commonwealth, causing several parties to appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals.

In January, by a 2 to 1 margin, the Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that the domain names did not constitute gambling devices.