Home / Poker News December 2011 / DoJ: Wire Act Does not Apply to Online Poker
DoJ: Wire Act Does not Apply to Online Poker
Posted by: Randy Williams - Sun, 2011-12-25 12:41
The DoJ came forth with an announcement the other day, the significance of which cannot yet be fully assessed for the online poker industry. It may indeed be something major, but given the caution the DoJ has expressed in the same statement in regards to the UIGEA, it may yet subside without any significant consequences.
For years, the Wire Act, an antiquated law, was used in combination with the UIGEA to position online poker and online gambling outside the law and subject to federal prohibition. The 2006 UIGEA’s provisions do not define online poker as unlawful. They merely forbid banks and financial institutions from processing funds transfers related to online wagering activities of any sort. It was the Wire Act of 1961 that allowed various authorities to proclaim online poker illegal.
According to the response though that the DoJ has issued to the inquiry of New York and Illinois lottery representatives, the days of pulling out and dusting off the above said Wire Act whenever the discussion on the legal status of
online poker was stirred up, are over.
In the said response, the DoJ has clearly addressed the problem through Assistant Attorney General Virginia Seitz, putting all doubt to rest, hopefully forever.
Communications and wire transmissions which are not related to a sporting event or contest are not considered to be covered by the Wire Act according to the DoJ memo.
According to the Poker Players’ Alliance, the DoJ’s move is a huge victory for the online poker industry, being a clear indication that online poker is by no means in violation of the Wire Act.
It is noteworthy though that the DoJ memo steered well clear of the 2006 UIGEA, the true hurdle on the path of legal online poker.
The memo does not in any way impact the DoJ’s efforts to combat organized criminal networks linked to online gambling/poker.
