In a drama that never seems to die, a Federal Appellate Court will hear arguments on the 2018 DOJ Wire Act Opinion by teleconference next week on June 18th. The remote conferencing is because of restrictions still in place because of the COVID-19 crisis. In 2002, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that the act was exclusive to sports betting, and while there were efforts in Congress to amend the law, a Department of Justice opinion in 2011 stated interstate gambling transactions that were not sports-related were not in purview to the Wire Act. That…

New Jersey’s Attorney General has filed a legal brief setting out the state’s opposition to the DOJ Wire Act opinion, a reinterpretation of the 1961 Act, arguing that federal law actually permits most forms of online wagering. The aggressive move from AG Gurbir was filed with a First District Federal Court of Appeals in response to the DOJ’s appeal against a New Hampshire Court decision that struck down its revised stance on the Act. The DOJ’s revised stance said that the Wire Act’s prohibition applies to all forms of gambling and not just sports betting, thus reversing a 2011 ruling….

It’s been several weeks since the DOJ Wire Act opinion changed and threatened online gambling, poker and sports betting. Suspicion was that casino mogul (and Republican mega-donor) Sheldon Adelson had a lot to do with the Justice Department decision… and now we know for sure! Plus, now that the connections between Adelson and the DOJ have come to light, state Attorney Generals from New Jersey and Pennsylvania are starting to take action.   As the gaming and legal worlds have had time to absorb the new opinion on the Wire Act issued by the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel…