More from the PPA
The controversy still abounds around the Franklin Circuit Court ruling on the 16th of October regarding the domain name seizure case brought on by Kentucky’s Governor Beshear against 141 online casinos, whose domain names are alleged to be “gambling devices” subject to seizure by the state.
Judge Wingate has upheld the state’s right to seize the domain names if the sites fail to “geo-block” access to the sites from Kentucky residents. Geo-blocking is the process by which ISPs in a certain region block access to certain IP addresses from being accessed.
But this appeals to a much bigger level than just the poker playing community. If this ruling is allowed to stand, people of all walks of life may be in danger of losing the transparency that the internet offers online poker. For any site on any topic that a state or the fed may view as questionable or illegal based on a highly conservative construction of statute, those states may be able to use this case as a parallel to justify their actions.
Not only does this inhibit the freedoms allowed to the citizens, namely the rights to privacy and the right to information, but it also inhibits the freedom of speech of website owners and operators if they’re not allowed to reach out and provide their information to anyone who seeks it out.
All in all, it’s a sad day in Kentucky, especially when the problem itself is not the websites or the moral idea of gambling or poker, but the ulterior motive of suppression. Suppression you ask? Yes, the elimination of competition from other mediums. See online gambling is legal in Kentucky, as they have a lottery and a booming horse racing business.
So, no, it’s not the gambling itself, but the self interest that has blinded the government to the atrocity it’s committing against the people’s personal liberties. Besides, it’s the competition between the industries that keeps them efficient.
