On Friday, the day before Christmas weekend, the US Dept of Justice has let it be known that it has changed their position regarding the federal Wire Act of 1961. They have stated that the act ONLY applies to sports betting. The DOJ has used the Wire Act of 1961 when trying to bring the law down on online gambling, stating it is "illegal". 

U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole wrote "The Departments Office of Legal Counsel ("OLC") has analyzed the scope of the Wire Act, 18 U.S.c  § 1084, and concluded that it is limited only to sports betting,".

What does this mean to online gamblers? What is this going to lead to? 

This means that the DOJ cannot use the Wire Act of 1961 to say that online gambling is illegal. It has been shying away recently from using that law to crack down on "illegal" online gambling operations with what was the backbone of most of their cases. 

The Justice Department now believes that the Wire Act does not apply to online gambling. They are even going as far to say that the criminal division got it wrong concerning the Wire Act. "We conclude that the Criminal Divisions premise is incorrect and that the Wire Act prohibits only the transmission of communications related to bets or wagers on sporting events or contests,".

Basically, the federal government will no longer try to crack down on what they were calling "illegal" online gambling with the Wire Act of 1961 but can continue to bring charges against people using the UIGEA. 

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act or UIGEA, which was put into force in 2006, is what was used to bring charges against the people involved with the Black Friday busts. The UIGEA is a law that makes the moving of money between gambling organizations illegal, not the act of gambling itself. 

Mark Hichar is a partner who leads the gambling law group at Edwards Wildman, said the opinion could potentially open the door for states to cooperate together on lottery initiatives and other gambling offerings like Internet poker and other casino games. The Department of Justice at long last has removed a cloud that existed with respect to intrastate Internet wagering and we have yet to see how far reaching its implications will be, Hichar said.

Many feel this is the move that will make online gambling in the United States legal once and for all! 

The full article can be read here. 

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