The Wire Wager Act forms the basis for federal action on Internet gambling laws in the United States. The law was meant to complement and support laws in the various states, focusing primarily on “being engaged in the business of betting or wagering” using wire communication to place bets or wagers on sporting events or similar contests. The law also comments on receiving money or credit.
The DOJ also opines that the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), enacted in 2006, does not conflict with or modify the scope of the Wire Act (noting that the definition of “unlawful Internet gambling” only applies to UIGEA, and “simply does not affect what activities are lawful under the Wire Act”). This new guidance from the DOJ regarding the scope of Section 1084(a.
One point stated that if this revised interpretation of the Wire Act is enforced, it could very well end the NJ online gambling industry. Its operations are run by interstate means. The Garden State is also currently in agreement with Delaware and Nevada on its poker liquidity shared through multiple states. Further, in this memorandum, the argument states that “It is simply the nature of.
A federal court has ruled in favor of the New Hampshire Lottery that the Wire Act only affects interstate sports betting and does not have anything to do with lotteries, casino gaming, or poker. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows for supporters of USA internet gaming. Read on to learn more about this decision, the reasoning employed to arrive at it, and possible clouds on the horizon.
In 2011, the Department of Justice issued a legal opinion clarifying that the Wire Act, a federal law passed in 1961 to stop interstate betting, applied only to sports betting and not other forms.
The Interstate Wire Act makes it illegal to place bets “using a wire communication facility.” Until recently, the Department of Justice interpreted that to include all wagers made online. Though the Interstate Wire Act has been re-interpreted to allow some forms of online gambling, the DoJ still claims that the Wire Act makes Internet sports gambling illegal.
The proposal would renew federal restrictions on online gambling. It would reinstate the original interpretation of the Wire Act, which was used to prosecute early Internet gambling such as online.
Wire Act still winding its way through court. The position on its Wire Act case, which threw cold water on internet gambling is this:. The Office of Legislative Counsel (OLC) opinion from the Department of Justice, which sought to expand the scope of the Wire Act to cover all forms of gambling, was denied in June.But the case is far from over.