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  • DOJ now says the Wire Act applies to all interstate gambling, not just sports betting

    Federal Issues

    On January 14, the DOJ released an opinion broadening the application of the U.S. Wire Act’s prohibition on interstate gambling, concluding that the act also applies to non-sports-related betting. In a reconsideration of its 2011 opinion, which found the act only prohibited sports gambling, the DOJ’s opinion, dated November 2018, states that the act’s limitation “on any sporting event or contest” only applies to the prohibition against transmitting “information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers.” The other prohibitions under Section 1804(a) will now apply to interstate non-sports-related gambling so long as the other elements of the statute are satisfied. The DOJ acknowledged that the decision will likely be tested in the courts, and noted that if Congress finds it appropriate to protect contrary interests, “it retains ultimate authority over the scope of the statute and may amend the statute at any time, either to broaden or narrow its prohibitions.”

    Federal Issues DOJ Mobile Payments Gambling Wire Act

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