The Department of Justice appeal for online gambling and the Wire Act is almost upon us! The DOJ seems to thinks that the Act criminalizes interstate internet gambling and poker! Even after a Federal Judge ruled against them! Now they are set to appeal that decision in a case that could go all the way to the Supreme Court! We also have a new interview to share, plus two new game reviews!
Hello all you gorgeous people out there! J Todd here with This Week in Gambling for November 12 2019! A very important deadline for online gambling and the Wire Act, actually… and that deadline is this week’s big story.
I’m sure most of you remember that in January of this year the US Department of Justice decided (for no apparent reason) that they were going to change their opinion on the Federal Wire Act. What’s more is that the DOJ actually believed that by simply changing their mind on the Wire Act suddenly… overnight… all interstate online gambling in America became illegal… state regulations be damned! A move that state regulators called bullshit on!
One state in particular, New Hampshire, actually sued the Justice Department over this in February, rightfully claiming that the Wire Act, in fact, only applies to sports betting… not online casino games, not online poker games, and not online lottery games. DOJ opinion be damned!
Then in June, a federal judge agreed with New Hampshire: The wire act does only apply to bets placed on sporting events! Which of course the Department of Justice disagreed with… which set in motion a series of events leading to a date and a deadline… which brings us to today! November 12th is and or was the date the and deadline that the Justice Department had to have their paperwork filed in order to appeal the judge’s decision and keep this party going!
But some of you may be wondering at this point: Is it possible? Is there a chance that the DOJ could actually come back and prevail in this case? Most industry experts agree that, at this point, there is very little, if any, chance that the DOJ could actually come back and win this.
In fact This Week in Gambling just conducted an interview with Greg Brower, former Legislative Counsel for the Justice Department, about this online gambling and the Wire Act case. He had a lot of insight into what the DOJ may do next and why they actually might not be so enthusiastic about prosecuting people for online gambling under the Wire Act.
Basically he feels that if the DOJ should win on appeal then this case will most likely end up at the US Supreme Court. If, however, they lose on appeal, then his opinion is this is game over, man… Game over! You can watch the full five minute interview with Mr. Brower on our YouTube channel, or by following the link: Greg Brower Interview.
Friends I have a question for you: If you’re getting good information from these videos and you like what we’re doing here, why not take a moment and click that “Subscribe” button? It doesn’t cost you anything, I promise! And our channel could always use the support, not to mention my ego always needs a boost!
Also this week we have two new game reviews to tell you about. First up it’s Aurora Wilds. A five real three row ten payline slot from Microgaming that you can play on your mobile device… Also, there’s Durian Dynamite from Quickspin. This is a five reel game with twenty paylines, plus exploding and shooting wilds! Both of these reviews are available right now on our Channel.
Finally this week, on our last program I told you that residents in the state of Colorado were going to be voting on whether or not to regulate sports betting. I also said that the vote had little opposition and not to worry because it would pass easily. Yeah, turns out the vote was a little closer than I thought it would be! I mean, sports betting still passed… by the narrowest of margins… at 50.2 percent! But hey! A win is a win! And regulations is regulation! I just happen to get some bad information. Still, it’s better than that bad sushi I got at that gas station in Fresno…
