by Dustin Gouker, Legal Sports Report
Shockwaves reverberated through the gaming industry on Wednesday with the revelation that the online gaming business in the US could be turned on its head by the Department of Justice.
Or it won’t be turned on its head at all.
An opinion from the DOJ appears to be coming — as first reported at Online Poker Report — that reverses the DOJ’s stance that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting, and instead applies to all forms of betting that crosses state lines in some way.
However, its release is not a guarantee, according to Online Poker Report sources, or that it will materialize on Friday. And we’re not sure of exactly what the opinion would say, if it’s released, other than it walks back the 2011 opinion from the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC).
Still, the OLC opinion helped spark the rise of intrastate online gaming in Nevada, New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. And intrastate online sports betting has gotten underway with few real worries about the Wire Act.
So what would a reversal of the DOJ stance mean in practice? It could mean almost nothing changes or everything changes, depending on the content of the DOJ opinion and who you talk to about it.
We asked some lawyers and other industry experts, and suffice it to say, the opinions varied wildly on what it could all mean.
Rest is here…https://www.legalsportsreport.com/26963/wire-act-doj-reversal-impact/
