US Online GamblingThreatened By Department of Justice Opinion
Sheldon Adelson boss of Las Vegas Sands
CEO of Las Vegas Sands, Sheldon Adelson and wife Miriam have much reason to celebrate. In the late hours of Monday night, the US Department of Justice revised its opinion about the legality of online gambling in the country, jeopardizing the future of the industry.
According to authorities, the decision lies in tune with the Wire Act (also called the Interstate Wire Act of 1961 or Federal Wire Act, it illegalizes and prohibits certain forms of betting in the United States). The recently-released DOJ opinion illegalizes not only sports betting (as indicated during the Obama-era), but also other forms of online gambling. Members of the Senate confirmed that the new DOJ opinion might also affect online poker and interstate lottery.
The revised DOJ opinion comes as a breath of fresh air for Adelson and his team. The casino-hospitality tycoon has been an ardent anti-internet-gambling advocate and whose Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling has been steadily gaining steam for years.
In an address to the public, former Arkansas Senator and member of the Coalition Blanche Lincoln, said, “Today’s decision seamlessly aligns with the Department’s longstanding position that federal law prohibits all forms of Internet gambling, as well as with Congress’s intent when it gave law enforcement additional tools to shut down the activity through the overwhelmingly-passed Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006. Today’s landmark action to rightfully restore the Wire Act is a win for parents, children and other vulnerable populations.”
When asked about the impact the DOJ opinion will have on the legalization of sports betting, Senator Lincoln had this to say, “Having been asked to reconsider, we now conclude that the statutory prohibitions are not uniformly limited to gambling on sporting events or contests. Only the second prohibition of the first clause of section 1084(a), which criminalizes transmitting ‘information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest,’ is so limited. The other prohibitions apply to non-sports-related betting or wagering that satisfy the other elements of section 1084(a).”
The comprehensive impact this potential reversal of legalization will have on the online gambling industry is yet to be understood. Already states like Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and Nevada have passed bills pertaining to the legalization of online gambling (casino or lottery). They have invested millions of dollars in developing hi-tech online gambling facilities. Other states are in the process of doing so too.
While the opinion (and the Wire Act) is said to receive backlash from pro-online gambling advocates, with the possibility of the case coming to court; it is still too soon to define the magnitude of the impact it will have on the US online gambling and sports betting industry.
