No one could have foreseen the Internet in 1961. And yet, that year an act was passed to prevent organized crime from taking sports bets over the telephone. Now, nearly 60 years later people wonder if the Wire Act will always be a roadblock to interstate online gambling in America. Whether the Act applies to all forms of gambling (or only sports betting) is currently the subject of a court in the First Circuit. But even ignoring the potential broader ramifications, the antiquated law has already proven itself detrimental to the sector’s growth. So what are the chances of getting…

Despite having their butts handed to them by a Federal Judge last June, the DOJ Wire Act position refuses to budge. Not even a little. In fact, they are doubling down on their bet that with 1961 act applies to the internet and all forms of gambling. The New Hampshire District Court ruled last year that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting — and not to online gambling more broadly. That decision threw a fat wrench in the government’s plans to broaden the scope of the antiquated 46 year old statute via a 2018 memorandum, which flew in…

Despite the decision of a Federal Judge, the DOJ Wire Act plans are still moving forward. They look to enforce their opinion that the Act applies to online gambling and poker… but now some Congressmen are threatening the Justice Department ability to act upon those plans. We also have stories about sports betting in Maine, the failure of mobile betting in New York and the status of betting on sports in Colorado.     Hello friends and This Week in Gambling, I’m J Todd. You know the online gambling industry has been fighting with the US government for years… more…

A congressman from New Jersey threatens the DOJ with lawsuit over their change in opinion on the Federal Wire Act… and not just any congressman. Less than two weeks after the state Attorney General filed a Freedom of Information Act request to find out if anti-online gaming casino mogul Sheldon Adelson helped influence a reversal, the New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney took things a step further. Sweeney (D) wrote a letter to the DOJ criticizing their new interpretation, stating that if the DOJ doesn’t reverse course, New Jersey will take the matter to court. “If the OLC 2019 Wire…