The US Justice Department Sued over Wire Act Opinion by  iDEA Growth Trade Group An online gaming association known as iDEA Growth has become the latest organization to legally challenge to the Department of Justice about their revised opinion on the Federal Wire Act. In January, the revised opinion was issued following a request from the DOJ’s Criminal Division to reconsider the 2011 opinion on the Wire Act. That ruling had paved the way for the roll-out of online gambling in a number of US states. Under the revised opinion, the Wire Act would prohibit all forms of gambling, and…

Former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker Dark Money ties are coming to light: A single six-figure mystery donor accounted for 100 percent of funding raised by his nonprofit group, a new tax documents obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics reveal. President Trump tapped Whitaker to become acting Attorney General earlier in November after Jeff Sessions was asked to resign. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) is a self-proclaimed 501(c)(3) “watchdog” nonprofit. This is not the first year a single big donor has accounted for the entirety of FACT’s funding, according to an exclusive new analysis by CRP….

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…

The US Department of Justice recently changed their opinion on the Federal Wire Act. And now, the New Hampshire Lottery is Suing the DOJ. The Lottery filed suit in federal court in an attempt to stop the agency from enforcing its new opinion about the Wire Act against lotteries. Governor Chris Sununu announced in a press release that “The opinion issued by DOJ puts millions of dollars of funding at risk, and we have a responsibility to stand up for our students.” The technology and service provider of the lottery has also filed suit. The complaint in the US District…

The DOJ’s new Wire Act opinion has created a cloud of uncertainty over the US gambling industry. The highly controversial opinion overturns one from 2011 which limited the scope of the Wire Act to sports betting. Under the new interpretation, the 1961 federal law extends to all forms of online gambling. According to one of the most distinguished gaming lawyers in the world, the new opinion is highly flawed, and any attempt at strict enforcement would dismantle not only the online gambling industries in several states, but possibly state lotteries and the horse racing industry. Online Poker Report had the…

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…