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 opinion led to state lotteries allowing online sales.
The New Hampshire Lottery challenged that opinion in court. A year ago, a New Hampshire federal judge ruled in the lottery’s favor, saying the law is limited only to sports betting. We interviewed Gregory Brower, former Legislative Counsel for the Justice Department, about this topic last October. You can watch that interview below:
You can read more about the DOJ Wire Act Opinion case at Casino.org