Industry insiders have called foul over the fact that TwinSpires.com — a web site owned by the same company that owns and operates the Churchill Downs horse racing track in Kentucky — is NOT among 141 domain names at risk of seizure in a controversial court case.

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear wants gaming sites like Bodog, Absolute Poker, Ultimate Bet, PokerStars, Cake Poker, Full Tilt Poker, and Doyle’s Room to block their sites to Kentucky citizens or surrender control of their domains.

Judge Thomas Wingate says he will hear the case in Franklin County Court on Nov. 17.

Outcry

Beshear claims his action is aimed at protecting “our people, especially our children, from this illegal and unregulated activity while also protecting our legal and regulated forms of gaming.”

But the exclusion of TwinSpires.com has prompted outcry from gaming site bosses, who say all internet gambling should be treated equally.

Jay Lakin from the website pokersource.com said: “Why should online wagering on horse racing be any different than playing online poker?

Arguments

“If the argument here is protecting children, don’t we also want to protect them from wagering on Seabiscuit?”

Next month’s hearing will allow state and industry lawyers to argue whether gaming domains can actually be seized under Kentucky law, whether the State has jurisdiction in the case, and whether violations of First Amendment rights on Free Speech have occurred.