The long-running court case involving the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s attempt to hijack 141 online gambling domains has been hit with yet another delay. On Dec. 17, Judge Thomas Wingate issued a 30-day order of abeyance, essentially injecting formaldehyde into the proceedings until the Court determines the validity of the Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association’s (iMEGA) claim to legal standing.
While iMEGA regards any absence of a directly negative ruling as a victory, there was a more tangible sign of progress. Judge Wingate acknowledged that Yatahay Limited is indeed the owner of TruePoker.com, one of the 141 seized domains and the company that stepped up and identified itself as a member of iMEGA to boost the group’s claim to standing. Despite this, Wingate reiterated that iMEGA’s claim to associational standing in an in rem proceeding remains ‘unclear.’
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus’ plan to ban online gambling will be delayed by at least three months due to the lack of timely feedback from fellow European Union nations. Cyprus had sent a draft of the proposed scheme to the EU to allow other member states to weigh in with their opinion, but that won’t be forthcoming until March 14, 2011.
The proposed regulations call for the creation of a licensing body to issue online sports betting permits, but would ban other forms of gambling such as casino and poker. Frankly, we’d love to get Cypriot gaming officials together in a room with their North American counterparts — who prefer to license online poker and/or casino games, but vehemently oppose any kind of direct sports betting – and see what kind of lively debate ensues.
