That's the state song of the home of tombayes but online gamblers may want to change it to something unprintable. "A Franklin County Circuit judge last week ordered the transfer of the domain names of 141 illegal Internet gambling sites to the Commonwealth of Kentucky in an effort to stop illegal and unregulated online gaming." That's an article from the kypost.com. Here's what Governor Steve Beshear said:

Unlicensed, unregulated, illegal Internet gambling poses a tremendous threat to the citizens of the Commonwealth because of its ease, availability and anonymity.

The owners and operators of these illegal sites prey on Kentucky citizens, including our youth, and deprive the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in revenue. It’s an underworld wrought with scams and schemes.

Here's a link to the domain seizure order.

Now, I'm a bit doubtful that a judge in Kentucky can cause the seizure of pokerstars.com; I have to assume that most (if not all) of the sites listed in the order use foreign ISPs and domain hosts. But a judge in Kentucky can order Kentucky ISPs to block connections to those sites.

There's a thread on this on 2+2.

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My analysis:

1. The domain sites won't be seized (unless there's a really stupid gambling site operator out there).
2. Kentucky law likely supports the judge's ruling. Almost every state only allows gambling authorized by state law. Gambling in the United States has historically been regulated at the local (state) level. I'm not an attorney, so I can only say likely. The end result will be what a Kentucky judge or judges decide.
3. When the judge finds out that the domains are still in the hands of their owners (it's hard for a Kentucky judge to seize assets on the Isle of Man) he'll (a) leave the ruling on the books for the date when it is possible for a Kentucky judge to seize assets on the Isle of Man; (b) order ISPs to block access to those websites; and (c) fine the websites for not complying with his order. ISPs and others will yell bloody murder at point (b) and I have significant doubts as to that being implemented but....
4. Governor Steve Beshear (D) was elected partially because he was pro-gambling. Pro-gambling really means gambling that the State profits from. This is just a reminder that Democrats are no better on this issue than Republicans.
5. If Kentucky is successful and forces ISPs to block gambling websites other states will do the same. Again, every state bans gambling that's not sanctioned by the state.

A long time ago I speculated that one likely way that online gambling would go away in the US were if a state attorney general decided to attack the sites. I speculated (at that time) that New York was the most likely (Eliot Spitzer was then NY Attorney General and hated online gambling). It appears that Jack Conway doesn't like online gambling.

This could lead to the end of online gambling in the United States. More likely, all this will do is ensure that no one who is an executive for an online gambling company attends the Kentucky Derby in the foreseeable future.

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A question for tombayes: Are Cairo, IL, Metropolis, IL, or Paris, TN within easy commuting distance of Murray?