Kentucky's Gambling Domain Name Grab Sets A Terrible Precedent
from the governors-who-want-more-power dept
Last month, we wrote about a bizarre lawsuit in Kentucky, where a judge gave the government the ability to seize the domain names of numerous online gambling sites, even though none of them were based in Kentucky, or even registered via Kentucky-based registrars. The whole thing smelled of corruption, given that the governor is closely tied to offline casino interests, and his campaign apparently included a big promise to bring more offline casinos to Kentucky. This effort seems mostly focused on not just blocking out online competitors, but seizing their domain names. Lots of people are pushing back and explaining how ridiculous the scenario is to the judge, noting, for example, that following similar logic would allow any country to seize any domain name. For example, China could decide that the BBC website violates its laws and demand that the BBC domain name be turned over to the Chinese government. Most folks would recognize that this is ridiculous -- but it's effectively what the Kentucky governor has done.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: domain names, gambling, governor, kentucky, online gambling
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If it is corruption, then all the knowledge in the world will not help.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Another example...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bad Logic
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Take him down!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Cant do it !
I could see if the companies were based in Kentucky. (Even though this still smells of corruption.) At least then he would have a legal leg to stand on but out-of-state? This is laughable if it weren't for the far reaching implications if allowed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This will result in
Fine use of those tax dollars, governor.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No the whole story
Here in the Bluegrass state, we have horse racing, a fine way to waste a day and waste a lot of money. Indiana is just right across the river and it has two casinos, also a fine way to waste a day and waste even more money, because you can gamble 24/7 without having to wait 25 minutes in between races.
The news is chock full of the reports showing how so much of KY's leisure revenue is going to Indiana because they have casinos and we don't. Now, obviously we can't block access to Indiana, but in tough economic times, the governor has got to do something to show how sensitive he is to economics and crap. So, here's a pretty good sounding notion, sue the Internets. Throw in something about it being "for the children" and you've got a surefire winner.
Nevermind that the idea is batshitinsane, it will look good come next election.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Steve Beshear
To show how stupid the people of Kentucky are the approval rating for this loser is 80 %.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
KY Gov has legal backing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The BBC Analogy
I’m not sure that the BBC has a Chinese domain name, but one could certainly imagine a situation in which google.cn or yahoo.cn could be seized by the Chinese government. Tip for gambling websites: your domain name should end .co.uk not .com.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
One issue that will eventually have to be addressed is whether or not domain names are "property".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Dem Folks Ought to No Betta
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Dem Folks Ought to No Betta
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You do know that Kentucky sits further north than most of the state of California, right?
In fact, you follow that same line that passes through Louisville, Kentucky east, and it comes very close to passing through the District of Columbia.
You can make all the hick jokes you want, maybe even say that the mountain air does no good for the brain, but please don't try to call them southerners.
I can imagine that the **AA's are watching this very close. After all, they would love to seize piratebay's domain. Then, after that victory, they might even get around to seizing techdirt.com because Mike offers a contrary view which might 'promote piracy.'
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
maybe
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fuhgedaboudit
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
very strange
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Agreed
David Brown
http://symis.com
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is right
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Appreciated
[ link to this | view in chronology ]