Gambling Sites Get Bent Over But Could Do Without the KY
by Amelia G : October 28th, 2008
So apparently the great state of Kentucky wants to get into the gambling biz. Times are tough all over and I totally understand being open to new opportunities in these difficult economic times. Adult trade journal XBiz reported yesteray that Kentucky “Gov. Beshear was elected on a platform that included bringing gambling to the state.” Okay, so far, no problem, right.
Well, Kentucky filed suit to seize 141 gambling domains, including, according to The Washington Post, some very active huge money-making concerns such as UltimateBet.com and FullTiltPoker.com. Kentucky Judge Thomas Wingate is presiding over this legal fiasco. Registrars eNom and GoDaddy have apparently complied with Kentucky’s request and handed over those gambling casino domains registered with them. Most other US-based registrars are bizarrely expected to follow, although, as a domain-consumer, I’m certainly noting which registrars roll over first and easiest on this.
Now I understand that some people feel gambling is immoral and they believe in legislating morality. If Kentucky totally outlawed gambling and had technology initiatives to block gambling sites from being viewed in Kentucky, I would think that was their right. I would also think it was the right of their residents to pick up and move to some place more pleasant like California. It is, however, legal for residents of Kentucky to gamble online with real money. In fact, although U.S. banks have been legally barred from processing online gambling payments for a couple years now, Washington state is the only one which made it illegal for residents to place online bets for actual cash money. Basically, the law would be akin to making it 100% legal to buy drugs and 100% illegal to sell them. The results, naturally, are that a lot . . .
( Read more )