FRANKFORT, Ky. — A state judge ordered an online poker company to pay Kentucky $870 million and sternly rebuked the company Wednesday for making “a calculation that breaking the law was good for business.”
Casino-style gambling is illegal in Kentucky. Yet between 2006 and 2011, about 34,000 Kentuckians lost more than $290 million wagered on PokerStars.com. Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate ordered Amaya, PokerStars’ parent company, to give the money back. He then tripled the damages to punish the company for what he said was a willful violation of Kentucky’s laws. And he ordered the state to collect 12 percent interest on the debt until it was paid in full, potentially adding another $104 million a year to the total.
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