On Friday, the Kentucky Appeals Court heard the representatives of six online gambling sites as they argued against Governor Beshear’s attempts to take over the domain names of 141 sites that cater to Kentucky citizens. Beshear was given the green light by a lower court that he was entitled to go ahead with what many consider a scandalous process. Beshear’s attempts have raised huge objections in gambling and non-gambling circles alike.

The lawyers for the six sites argued that the lower Kentucky court had no jurisdiction over domain names that were registered overseas, especially in countries where gambling is legal. They also argued that since the gambling sites’ owners had not been criminally charged, there was no basis for seizing the domain names. The case continues with the Appeals Court hearing more arguments this week.