A couple of weeks ago there was an underreported court ruling in Kentucky regarding the internet that bears mention. The problem, as Kentucky sees it, is that online gambling is morally wrong. Nevermind, that the state has its own lottery and wagered horseraceing. Afterall, it is always much more fun to point at someone else’s sins than one’s own.

Last year, Kentucky sought to confiscate 141 domain names from gambling sites, including such big name poker sites as pokerstars.com and fulltiltpoker.com. Amazingly, Judge Thomas Wingate agreed Kentucky had the right to do so and, reporedly, a few registrars turned domain names over to the state. Kentucky believed it had the authority to seize the domain names by calling them gambling devices.

The big players on the internet, such as Internet Commerce Commission, Go Daddy, and the gambling websites themselves immediately appealed.

Now the Kentucky Court of Appeals, by a 2-1 vote, has overturned the previous ruling. The court determined that domain names, essentially a series of numbers, did not constitute a device according to Kentucky law. Of course, this leaves open the possibility that the Kentucky Legislature can change the definition of a gambling device or just include internet domain names as devices.

Hopefully, that never happens. Imagine an internet where every state, nation or government body can confiscate parts of the internet worldwide because it offends their morals, sense of decency or tax base. It isn’t going to happen, but there’s no reason to risk the ruling of a foolish judge somewhere throwing a wrench in the internet.

As it is, the potential for internet havoc was narrowly averted this time. Four judges have reviewed this issue so far and have lined up two on each side. That is not particularly comfortable arithmetic. The matter may not be over yet, either. A spokesman for the Governor said, “We want to take some time to review (the ruling). No decision has yet been made on whether to appeal it to the state Supreme Court.”