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State of Kentucky Seizes Control of 141 Domain Names
ashmodai9 writes "In a rather interesting (read: insane) decision, a district judge in the State of Kentucky has awarded control of 141 online gambling domain names to the governor of the state. Most of these are hosted offshore, and very few are registered under US domain name registrars, let alone registrars in the State of Kentucky (are there any?). You can check out the press release here, and confirm that the Commonwealth of Kentucky does in fact now 'own' these domain names by performing a WHOIS search on any of the domains listed here."
ICANN will be handed over to U.N., resulting in whole lot of mess.
Read radical news here
What I'd really like to gain control of are those 11 secret herbs and spices.
window.location.replace('http://pwned.ky.us/');
Michael J. Ryan - tracker1.info
Cue the lawsuits in 3....2...1...
Is there ANY legal precedent for this, or does the KY AG just brain-fart regularly?
Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
Live in one country, host in a second, DNS in a third. Preferably non-contiguous ones that don't share languages.
[sarcasm] for posting a link to gambling911 in the article. Not like anyone reads Slashdot at work or anything. [/sarcasm]
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
I WHOIS'ed about a dozen of these domain names, and not a single one showed up as having anything to do with Kentucky.
How would the State of Kentucky "seize" a domain name registered in the Isle of Man anyway?
Arn't the offshore sites and registars a little out of the juridiction of the state? I could understand(well not really even then) if it was the government of the United States doing this. But the state being able to take things from people over seas just because they accept american gambling? How is that different then shutting down a store in Africa because they run a store that is illegal by american standards and accept US currency? By a state no less.
I am just completely flabbergasted that this can occur. By this logic, China could sue every website that posts anti-government information and seize all of their domains. Including something like google. This is really blowing my mind- can someone smarter than me explain what the judge was smoking, and why this isn't actually going to happen?
what's the over/ under on how many days before kentucky reverses itself?
and what site should i go to to get a piece of that action?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Seriously what is the issue here? Given that the biggest gambling Mecca in the western world is in the US (Las Vegas) which has the biggest gambling sporting events (Boxing) what is the issue with online gambling?
I'm a Brit, our issue was that we couldn't tax it so they went offshore. Our solution? Change the tax rules so they want to come back onshore. So far society hasn't collapsed and it appears that doing online poker is less risky than trusting your money to a bank right now anyway. I have friends who work in the sector who get nervous when they fly to the US even though they are developers, its just madness that the US seems to thinks gambling is a massive evil, in a country that things gun ownership is a right.
Given the current banking collapse and the way the Fed have clearly gambled on things (house prices going up for ever) it is ranking up there with a Kim Jong Il moment as weirdest things that a government could do.
The scary bit is I don't see anyone pushing back on it, not McCain, not Obama, not congress and certainly not the President. So please someone tell me
What the hell is so fundamentally wrong with gambling?
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
Websense blocks it.
One of our competitors trademarked the term "hypothesis". From now on, we will call them "boneheaded ideas".
ixwebhosting's parent is Ecommerce, Inc. in Kentucky, USA and Austria, Europe. With them you can host, register a domain, and get a credit card merchant account.
It's a big state with roads, universities, and ... actual cities. Just because there are parts of the state that are isolated and backwoods with people who are isolationist and backwards doesn't mean nobody in the whole state has an Internet connection.
In related news, not everyone in the state of New York is a tough Italian mafia soldier or Jewish writer with an overbearing mother. Not everyone in California is a beautiful, sexy, wine-making goddes under 50 or a Silicon Valley millionaire.
The same applies to people descended from different places who have immigrated. Not all Germans are engineers, and not all Persians sell rugs or drive taxis. Not all Mexicans are illegal immigrants, and not all white men are rich or powerful.
So does this mean that the state of Alabama could seize the domains names of all vendors of on-line sex toys?
Next we'll see China seize 141 illegal democracy websites, such as whitehouse.gov.
Given that the biggest gambling Mecca in the western world is in the US (Las Vegas)
I don't know about that. Native American casinos have far and away outstripped Nevada for gaming supremacy. California appearing to be the biggest State.
Some other places in the world probably have bigger operations either in construction or complete. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambling_in_Macau
The judicial event in question is odd to say the least. The chances are excellent this one will go a few rounds through appeal. The gaming industry doesn't like attracting attention to itself, so they'll probably let it die at some point to stay out of the limelight. The former owner of the domains will be encouraged to let it go.
Online gambling isn't seen as a direct threat to location-based operations, but sooner or later organized crime will run that too.
http://www.maxineudall.com/2010/02/should-economists-be-sued-for-malpractice.html
this isn't about beliefs, it is all about money.
Just like alcohol and cigarettes are regulated all in the name of money.
Gambling is no different, if the state license it then its permitted, otherwise its not. Simple as that. nothing about religion here (but maybe in KY) because many states that forbid gambling have lotteries (which of course are state sanctioned : the key word)
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
The judge included this line in his order:
"The domain names' configurations shall otherwise remain unchanged."
So - the state is not permitted to use the siezure to shut down the sites.
What's also interesting is that the title of the case is Commonwealth of Kentucky v. 141 Domain Names.
In other words, they didn't sue the companies and owners, they are doing a "civil forfieture" type of case. Nobody affected by this case was notified or served process.
This case is going to be really fun to watch. You can bet that it's going to be removed to Federal Court very quickly.
Um, where's the link to the court ruling??? If there isn't yet one published, the parent needs to say so.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
Didn't the WTO rule that online gambling is legal, and doesn't that trump this? Also, isn't the domain name registrar outside the law? I could be wrong, but this ruiling is rediculous.
So the most significant problem with online gambling, in Kentucky's eyes, is that it decreases the pool of money available to the horse track. Of course, they can tax that. They're really whining about the drop in tax revenue.
The last point is a good one, but it's as applicable to internet shopping as to internet gambling. Anytime you give someone money over the 'net, do it with a credit card. Any problem with the transaction, for any reason, call your card issuer and issue a chargeback. It's that simple, and it's the only thing that works. Government hasn't figured out a better way to deal with e-commerce yet, and they aren't likely to anytime soon.
The others are just a state who can't deal with new technology -- they're whining about how the Internet works, for chrissake. Welcome to the 21st century, Kentucky. Can we move forward now??
russia, perma member of the council, and has veto power. and, run by a mafia mob.
And if the UN controlled ICANN you just *know* decisions on domain names would be brought before the Security Council.
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
I checked a few random domains and noted some very recent updates... noone would really think this would stick?
$ whois casinoextreme.com
Updated Date: 23-sep-2008
Creation Date: 15-feb-1999
Expiration Date: 15-feb-2010
$ whois casinoextreme.com
Updated Date: 23-sep-2008
Creation Date: 15-feb-1999
Expiration Date: 15-feb-2010
$ whois inetbet.com
Updated Date: 23-sep-2008
Creation Date: 15-jan-1999
Expiration Date: 15-jan-2012
does that look like a nice picture ?
That's entirely dependent upon whose brand of pig-headed nationalism you want to subscribe to and whose you want to take a giant shit on.
#1 Link for us who are at work Try Here #2 The article that I linked notes that it was requested that access to these sites be blocked to persons inside the Commonwealth, or lose access to the domains. It seems the site owners were unwilling to comply.
"Highrollerslounge.com" is currently registered to "Commonwealth of Kentucky Justice Cabinet" and not currently resolving. The registrar was eNom, a favorite registrar of bottom-feeders. Enom is behind "Club Drop", with dozens of dummy registrars to pick up expiring domain names; they're a bulk registrar. Since Enom deals with many slimeballs, their policy is "If we are sued or threatened with lawsuit in connection with Service(s) provided to you, we may turn to you to indemnify us and to hold us harmless from the claims and expenses (including attorney's fees and court costs). Under such circumstances, you agree that you will, upon demand, obtain a performance bond with a reputable bonding company or, if you are unable to obtain a performance bond, that you will deposit money with us to pay for our reasonably anticipated expenses in relation to the matter for the coming year." So, unsurprisingly, that domain was transferred to Kentucky.
On the other hand, "Bugsyclub.com" is still connected to a gambling site. Their registrar is "Fabulous.com PTY LTD." "One of the leading domain monetization programs". "Fabulous.com" tries to be anonymous on their web site, but they're incorporated in Brisbane, Australia, and hosted in Santa Clara, CA. They used to be "Domain Intellect Pty Ltd", in Melbourne.
"sportsbook.com", once a major gambling site run from the UK, now a lesser site run out of Malta, is still up, and registered with Network Solutions. Sportsbook had some previous problems with the state of New Jersey over similar issues.
I'll bet that's what's going to happen.
Not on offshore gambling websites you wont! So says a district judge in Kentucky! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it!
Apparently gambling911 took a shot at using Drupal and have lost.
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Creationist Textbook Stickers Declared Unconstitutional by CowboyNeal
In other news; Kentucky has computers now! Disclaimer: I am an Appalachian-American so it is ok. Seriously. :)
Forgive my spelling from time to time. I'm often posting during short breaks.
All your base belong to kentuckeeeeeeeeeee
What next Kentucky, a Slander suit to get the domain name away from Kentucky Fried Chicken?
Sick of stupidity? http://www.patentlystupid.com
What the hell is so fundamentally wrong with gambling?
Assuming you're not trolling, the answer is that it entails exploitation of the weak. In particular for some fraction of people who gamble, it becomes an addictive behavior. Those people, in risking more than is rational, do damage to themselves and their loved ones (who may also be relying on them financially).
Over and above that, at a broader level it promotes greed and a "something for nothing" mentality that is corrosive to society.
The particulars might be in dispute, but you'd have to be blind to not see that gambling causes considerable suffering. I thank my lucky stars that I have other options for gainful employment available to me.
"Not an actor, but he plays one on TV."
Am I the only person who would be delighted if through some mysterious cause, all resolutions of Kentucky's government-related domain names get redirected to off-shore gambling sites?
The US government is notorious for giving itself exceptions, both directly and indirectly. Credit cards come with hidden fees that the merchant must pay. For example, of that $1 for the ticket, anywhere from 1 to 5% goes to a transaction processor who validates that the card is good and has an open balance. That's 95 to 99 cents that goes to the vendor of the ticket. It's illegal in the states to charge someone a different price for any item using a credit card instead of cash, so the merchant eats that. It's meant to encourage the use of credit cards as something just as good as cash, and makes the fee a cost of doing business. Since what I described is a federal rule, this is a good way to get around since this is only a state law.
There are probably many reasons for this law being enacted. Laws don't usually have only one true reason for existence, and you know that if it wasn't a law, some people would try to blow their $5000 platinum card on lottery tickets at some point.
side note: you may see many local mom and pop gas stations charging gas at two prices, one for credit and one for cash. Yes, that's illegal, and one of the reasons you don't see the big corporate chains doing it. However, the mom and pops are getting away with it because gas margins are slim and in the current economic climate the government isn't entirely unwilling to crack down on them since they have more important things to worry about at the moment.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"
My guess is that the judge did that to prevent damaging the owners prematurely, but did give the state the names.
It looks like he at least tried to balance the interests of the state and the owners, for now, especially as how there are further proceedings planned.
The owners did NOT participate in this case, and the judge wants to be careful not to damage someone who later might prevail.
At least that's my guess for now.
Sure, but no one petty dictator has all that much influence over a given UN agency. A system subject to the whims of some random county judge can't be significantly better than a system subject to regulations reached by international consensus, even if a lot of the countries reaching that consensus (most of which, really, probably don't really care much about domain name squabbles) aren't all that admirable.
Don't blame me; I'm never given mod points.
Speaking about PETA, check out this article from today's Dallas Morning News:
PETA asks Ben and Jerrys to use human breast milk in ice cream
PETA asks Ben & Jerry's to use human breast milk in ice cream
09:37 AM CDT on Thursday, September 25, 2008
Associated Press
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Ice cream made from breast milk?
That's what the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wants Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream to consider making.
The Virginia-based nonprofit group sent a letter to company co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield on Tuesday asking them to use human breast milk instead of cow's milk in their products.
PETA says the health of consumers and cows would benefit from the switch.
Ben & Jerry's spokesman Rob Michalak said the company applauds PETA's creative approach to bring attention to an issue, but believes that a mother's milk is best used by a child.
What? ®
Neocon ideology is not tied to Bush and Cheney, or even to the GOP. It's an expression of US nationalism and superpower mentality. Many Russians will argue that Clinton administration with Albright's "new world order" was a far more potent realization of neocon ideology, while Bush represents a limited - albeit more militaristic - form of neo-conservatism. Historically, USSR and later Russia found it easier to establish common ground with Republican administrations in the US. Not to mention that Bush with his idiotic foreign policies probably was more instrumental to Russia's economic recovery than Putin, who just provided political stability while aptly exploiting America's numerous foreign policy flops.
Maybe someone should charge the owner of that address with spreading malware. The Commonwealth of Kentucky I believe.
russia is run by a REAL mob. analogies dont hold. cia, bush et al would look like a brutal bureaucracy compared to the back alley mob that is ruling russia.
anyone raises their voice, even in some positive tone of criticism, they GET KILLED no later than 6 months or so.
in contrast, michael moore is still going around the country without getting clubbed to death accidentally by a lone police officer in usa.
that should tell you the difference.
Read radical news here
that 'new world order' of albright and clinton gave us the free internet.
world has never been the same again. see, you and me, talking together, im here, god knows where the hell are you.
that kind of world order is preferable to any else you mentioned.
russia's economic recovery is SOLELY due to selling of energy resources, and its stability is due to the fact that whomever opposes anything kremlin or the mob does, gets killed in 6 to 12 months.
Read radical news here
The US has already been punished for interfering with offshore gambling. I believe one country was given the right to ignore US copyrights as repayment for actions by the US... This is definatly going to get pulled to federal court and dismissed.. the precedent here would be disasterous
This is why Slashdotters should be encouraging this, not criticizing it!
Imagine the WTO ruling that no member country had to honor US copyrights as retaliation/punishment?
Free proprietary games, free proprietary software & operating systems..music..books...plus, so many countries doing this at once that the US wouldn't have near enough bombs, missiles, ships, or soldiers to dare trying strong-arm tactics!
What a circus that would be! As an added bonus, maybe it would keep politicians busy enough for a while to not be able to pass more stupid crap to remove more freedoms and money from the people.
Go, clueless Kentucky courts!
Cheers!
Strat
Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
Technically, I see that DNS lookup is pointing at an IP which is probably in the Caribbean. Maybe Kentucky hasn't altered the DNS info yet, but they should have had someone fixing that because they are required to reduce damage -- if Kentucky thinks the gambling is bad they should stop it, but if Kentucky doesn't know gambling is bad they are required to not damage the site's income.
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Or if it's a government that is opposing the motherland, then Russia shuts off natural gas to that country until said country is absolutely forced to capitulate.
Hey the UN put China on the Human Rights Counsel so what could wrong?
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
Jack Rickard and his army of sysops gave us the free internet.
What the hell did Albright and Clinton have to do with it?
I'm a Programmer. That's one level above Software Engineer and one level below Engineer.
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