DOJ reverses 2011 opinion of the Wire Act; legal online gaming in question

Comment #9

Stack47 — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 01:34:44 GMT

Got an email from the Poker Alliance with their take on the new DOJ ruling. They contention is the 1961 Wire Act applied to sports betting on sporting contests. Here's a conversation between Senator Estes Kefauver and Assistant Attorney General Herbert Miller in 1961:

Senator Kefauver: I can see that telephones would be used in sporting contests, and it is used quite substantially in the numbers games, too. How about laying off bets by the use of telephones and laying off bets in big time gam... [ More ]

Comment #8

Bleudog101 — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:47:21 GMT

What did I read yesterday...sixty days to comply from the DOJ? Article also expect lawsuits.

Comment #7

Bleudog101 — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:34:49 GMT

This is one law that is so antiquated it needs to go. Big government, once these scoundrels stop wasting Oxygen and are gone, should realize the tax benefit to opening the borders for all kinds of gambling.

Stack47...did you know or remember a couple of years ago the IRS tried to change the tax law so that slot machine payout tax liability would drop from $1199 to $600? The casino lobbyists fought hard on that one. Funny I thought the IRS couldn't change the rules...

Comment #6

Stack47 — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 20:02:06 GMT

That Act was made before there was a public Internet and should be repealed.

Comment #5

Stack47 — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 19:59:35 GMT

There was no Online lottery betting when the Justice Department made their 2011 ruling which basically said the intent of the 1961 Wire Act was for sports betting. The lottery lawyers probably already have the answers to the legality of selling multi-state tickets where the only effect (if there is one) is on jackpot prizes; states payout all the secondary prizes.

I always thought the 2001 JD ruling was unfair because it didn't apply to interstate horse racing betting and the 2006 UIGEA went... [ More ]

Comment #4

Bleudog101 — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 13:36:00 GMT

Todd, please add the couple of paragraphs that are missing from this article. This was pushed very hard by Adelson (?) a multi-billionaire who owns Sands et al Casinos in Las Vegas. He donated millions to the Repubs.

Personally I wish that 1961 Wire Act law which I've harped on several times on LP would be amended or just abolished.

Comment #3

KY Floyd — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 07:49:15 GMT

The 1961 wire act was made to stop sports betting

That strikes me as the rational conclusion. The first sentence reads ... transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers ...

About two y... [ More ]

Comment #2

music* — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 05:29:16 GMT

This might mean more players will turn to MM PB. Even if online betting is made illegal. More billion dollar jackpots are on the way.

Comment #1

Stack47 — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 02:59:31 GMT

The 1961 wire act was made to stop sports betting, but in 2001 that Justice Department ruled it covered all forms of Internet gambling. I guess the lottery question is will this new Justice Department ruling prevent states from selling MM, PB, or any other multi-state game tickets online.

DOJ reverses 2011 opinion of the Wire Act; legal online gaming in question

Lottery Post — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 01:15:48 GMT

The U.S. Department of Justice's legal counsel office reversed a 2011 opinion that the Federal Wire Act applies only to sports betting, potentially throwing the small U.S. Internet gaming market into question.

A 23-page opinion is dated Nov. 2, 2018 but became public Monday. Justice Department attorneys said they have, Based on the plain language of the issue, we reach a different result from the 2011 opinion of the 1961 Act.

While the Wire Act is not a model of artful drafting, we conclu... [ More ]