A 1798 law that allows the recovery of money that Kentuckians lost from illegal gambling was recently used in the state’s successful lawsuit against an online poker company , landing a $300 million judgment.
A new lawsuit filed Thursday attempts to do the same thing, only this time it targets companies tied to what are known as “ gray machines ” — cash payout games resembling casino slots that have proliferated in gas stations and stores around Kentucky in recent years.
Under Kentucky’s 226-year old Loss Recovery Act , a person has six months to file a lawsuit to recover funds they lost from an illegal gambling wager. Once these six months pass, any other Kentuckian can also file a lawsuit to recover up to three times the funds this other person lost to illegal gambling, going back five years.
In 2011, the administration of former Gov. Steve Beshear filed a lawsuit citing this law to recover funds Kentuckians’ paid to illegal online gambling company PokerStars over the previous five years. The state won the drawn-out litigation in a 4-3 ruling of the Kentucky Supreme Court, finally receiving a $300 million settlement in 2021.