The fight over American online gambling may now be over, and it looks like the good guys have won the battle! The First Circuit Court of Appeals has made a decision in the New Hampshire Lottery case after the Justice Department appealed the first decision. But if the DOJ wasn’t happy before, they won’t be happy now!
Hello friends! And thanks so much for streaming another edition of This Week in Gambling where the fight for American online gambling may have just come to a crashing halt! And that is this week’s big story!
For nearly 15 years now some in the US government have had a real bug up their ass when it comes to online gambling. And as many of you know, one of the laws they tried to use to stop the activity was the 1961 Federal Wire Act. Here’s the thing though: when push came to shove a US District Court up in New Hampshire told those politicians and the Justice Department that, in fact: “No!” The Wire Act only applies to sports betting! Not online casino games! And not online poker! That should have been the end of it, but…
Not to be deterred the DOJ appealed that decision. And just a few days ago the First Circuit Court of appeals issued their ruling, telling those politicians and the Justice Department once again that, in fact: “No!” The Wire Act only applies to sports betting! And that should be the end of it! But… the Department of Justice now has the option of appealing that decision all the way up to the US Supreme Court! The question is: Will they? And here’s where it gets good, because there are a lot of reasons to believe that, in fact, they won’t!
First of all there’s a new administration in the White House. And the Biden team seems to side with the notion that the Wire Act should strictly be interpreted for sports betting and not American online gambling. Second, as the Trump team was on their way out, so was Sheldon Adelson. As we covered on last week’s show Mr. Adelson just passed away at the age of 87. Not only was he a multi-billionaire casino magnate and a Trump supporter, but he also donated millions and millions of dollars to Republican causes… including the fight against online gambling!
So now Trump is gone… Adelson’s gone… and the DOJ has lost their appeal. I mean sure, they could fight this all the way to the Supreme Court, but most experts don’t think they will. And some of you out there may be wondering: Jay Todd, couldn’t they still use the Wire Act to attack sports betting in this country? Just to put your minds at ease, the Wire Act does apply to sports betting, but it’s a Federal law that only applies to bets made across state lines. It can do nothing to stop states from regulating the activity within their own borders. So there… you can put your minds at ease.
The good news just keeps on coming in the second half of our show, as American online gambling just hit an all-time record high this past weekend… thanks in large part to the opening of the markets in Michigan and Virginia. The NFL Conference Championships contributed in a large way to those record betting numbers, and the best part is that now all the other states see that legalized, regulated online gambling in America can work!
This week we have a game review for the Frost Queen Jackpots slot from our friends at Yggdrasil. It’s a 5 reel game with 20 paylines that also comes with wilds, scatters, 5 bonus spin modes, 5 jackpots, and Magic Mirrors that trigger a bonus game! You can find this review and hundreds more on our YouTube channel.
Finally this week our friends down in Puerto Rico just passed sports betting legislation, and the first wagers could be taken as early as April! So to all me amigos down there: “Felicidades, Puerto Rico! ¡Mi gato pronto tendrá gatitos!” I hope I pronounced that correctly!