Microgaming Named in Kentucky Law Suit

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The infamous Kentucky domain name seizure case is embroiled in the courts with no end in sight. Recently the Kentucky Supreme Court sent the case back to the originating court for evaluation of fresh evidence produced by iMEGA on behalf of the online gaming industry. Meanwhile Kentucky had filed another law suit based on a law in the statute that has never been used. The law allows the state to recover from an operator carrying out illegal gambling the amounts it has won from residents of Kentucky. The online poker room Full Tilt Poker and the online gambling operator Party Gaming had been named in the original suit. Now the lawyers representing the state of Kentucky have re-filed the complaint under number 10-CI-505 also naming Microgaming as a party it seeks to recover funds from.

The law suit describes the Isle of Man based Microgaming as a facilitator, host, operator and profiteer from more than 120 online casinos and 40 online poker rooms. It adds that these sites cater to more than three million players every month. Microgaming left the Kentucky market in late 2008 when the domain name seizure case was filed. However this present suit claims that Microgaming serviced Kentucky residents from September 29, 2005 to October 23, 2008. The law suit alleges that Microgaming conducted commercial transactions, accepted monetary transfers, extended credit, hosted online wagering games, set up and maintained accounts, took rake, shared in profits from its family of sites, employed proprietary software, and designed websites with "a purposeful, specific intention to do business over the internet" with players located in Kentucky. The lawsuit therefore claims that Microgaming can be litigated in the Commonwealth of Kentucky because it has "sufficient minimum contacts with the Commonwealth to establish a personal jurisdiction." A specific assertion is made that Microgaming received 25% of the gross revenue from its online gambling business in Kentucky. Kentucky is seeking as compensation the amount that Kentucky residents lost during the stated time period. The amount is not specified in numerical terms in the law suit, which leaves the amount to be "determined at trial." In addition to this Kentucky is claiming pre-judgment and post-judgment interest, attorney fees, and "such further relief as the Court deems just and proper."

It is a well known fact that the advocates for the state of Kentucky are working on a contingency basis in both this case and the domain name seizure case. They will get paid only if Kentucky is able to get funds from the various online gambling operators. Therefore it is casting its net far and wide, probably hoping that someone does not want to put up a legal fight and is inclined to settle.

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