Wire Act Revelation Gives US Gamblers Hope

In an ironic twist, the very legislation that has been used for years to justify the prohibition of online gambling in the United States, the 1961 Wire Act, may soon be used to legalise and regulate the popular internet activity in the not too distant future, following a recent Wire Act revelation.

According to U.S. Assistant Attorney General Virginia A. Seitz, 'interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a sporting event or contest, fall outside the reach of the Wire Act.' This means that while sports betting is still a no go, in theory, online casinos, online poker rooms, online bingo halls and online lotteries should be allowed in the U.S.

This comes after U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole published a letter last Friday which said: 'The Department's 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.'

Wire Act Used to Justify Online Gambling Crackdown

Traditionally, the US Department of Justice has used the 1961 Wire Act to justify cracking down on all forms of interstate gambling. It has gone hand in hand with the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which was signed into law by then President George W. Bush, to prevent US banks, credit card firms and other financial institutions from processing online gambling related payments from U.S. citizens.

But now there is a growing consensus that if the parameters of the Wire Act are found to be incorrect, the integrity of UIGEA will be compromised, which means that online casino, online poker, online bingo and online lotteries could in fact be perfectly legal in the United States, which could change the U.S. online gambling landscape overnight.

It could also leave egg on the face of U.S. officials who have wielded the Wire Act like a sword in their quest to eradicate online gambling in the United States. In 2007, then U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway stated in front of congress that the Wire Act applied to all internet gambling.

Revelation Could See Regulated Online Gambling in U.S.

'The Department of Justice's view is and has been for some time that all forms of Internet gambling, including sports wagering, casino games and card games, are illegal under federal law. While many of the federal statutes do not use the term 'Internet gambling,' we believe that the statutory language is sufficient to cover it,' she said.

The bottom line is that the Wire Act revelation could potentially allow states to cooperate together on online lottery and online casino and poker initiatives, opening the way for a legalised and regulated U.S. online gambling industry proponents of online gaming have been hoping and pushing for years.