We devote our entire program to the Wire Act lawsuit against the US Department of Justice! Oral arguments have begun in the case, and the future of online gambling in America could be at stake. The DOJ contends that the Federal Wire Act applies to all forms of gambling, while New Hampshire and fourteen additional states disagree. This week’s special offer is for Heavy Chips casino. Hello friends and thanks so much for joining me on This Week in Gambling. We have a lot to discuss on our program today. In fact we’re dedicating the entire show to what’s happening…

This week we’re tackling a story about a Washington State lawsuit over free play casino games, alleging Big Fish games illegal gambling activity. One ‘interesting’ player has alleged that Big Fish games use “illegal gambling tactics” in their free play games, and that selling chips constitutes gambling. Washington state has a long history of being aggressive towards our industry, even when there is no money being wagered! And this suit against Big Fish games could have interesting implications for our industry. Also, word has come that Sheldon Adelson is in failing health. Be sure to check out this week’s sponsor,…

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…

Korean social casino game operator DoubleUGames said on April 15 that a lawsuit filed against its US affiliate DoubleDown Interact would have limited impact. DoubleUGames’ statement came after a class action suit was filed against four social casino game companies including DDI in Washington on April 12, following a court ruling on March 28 terming operations of US-based Big Fish Casino as illegal online gambling as per state law. “We believe that the ruling of the Ninth Circuit of US Court of Appeals on Big Fish Casino is quite unusual,” the company said in a statement, citing four previous cases…

The Federal Court in the Australian state of Victoria has dismissed a case brought by a former gambling addict against slot machine maker Aristocrat Technologies Australia and Australian casino operator Crown Resorts. The judge said that the design of a popular line of poker machines was not misleading or unconscionable. The lawsuit was launched in 2016 by former gambling addict Shonica Guy. The lawsuit argued that the Dolphin Treasure machine, which is manufactured by Aristocrat and available to players at Crown Resorts’ properties, had been “deceptively designed to mislead players”. The lawsuit was filed against casino resort Crown Melbourne and…

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that he would file a net neutrality lawsuit, becoming the latest state attorney general to announce a challenge to the repeal. His announcement comes shortly after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, voted Thursday to roll back the Obama-era rules in a 3-2 vote down party lines. Ferguson positioned his suit as an attempt to thwart the Trump administration’s moves to roll back regulations across the government. “We are the 5-0 against the Trump Administration because they often fail to follow the law when taking executive action,”…