On Monday, the United District Court for the District of New Hampshire delivered a ruling that overturned a recent reinterpretation of the 1961 Wire Act that rendered all forms of online gambling illegal. Now, the law has been reverted to the 2011 version of the interpretation that states that only sports betting-related activities are subject to its restrictions.
“I hereby declare that § 1084(a) of the Wire Act… applies only to transmissions related to bets or wagers on a sporting event or contest. The 2018 OLC Opinion is set aside,” Judge Paul Barbadaro Ruled.
Needless to say, it was rather expected that the lawsuit would fall in favor of the New Hampshire lottery which filed the lawsuit. This is because there have always been doubts with regards to the new, broader interpretation of the Wire Act that was adopted last year in November by the Trump administrations. In addition to that, New Hampshire receives an overwhelming amount of backing and support from neighboring states such as Pennsylvania which also have stakes in the online gambling industry – Pennsylvania, for instance, just recently launched its first online sports betting offering and will finally be launching its first online casinos in a little over a month.
The federal court ruling is also a big win for online poker operators especially because it means they may be able to resume talks on the possibility of interstate poker and shared liquidity pools. In fact, it takes the pressure off the WSOP website which already has a multistate compact that allows players from Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware – Pennsylvania is also expected to join the compact in the near future.
West Virginia Sports Betting App Delayed
While the federal court decision has been great news for most operators, some of the betting companies have not been so lucky. Couple with some server issuers, the Wire Act still has some significance and has been the reason behind the delay in the return of mobile betting to the state of West Virginia.
Last year, Penn National Gaming, the parent company of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races in West Virginia, partnered with DraftKings for a sports betting app. A month ago, the West Virginia gaming regulator announced that the app had already passed all the necessary tests and was ready for a soft launch. However, this did not come to pass with the John Myers, the director of the Lottery announcing on Wednesday that the launch of sports betting app had been delayed so as “ensure compliance with the Federal Wire Act.” The announcement further revealed that the location of DraftKings servers had something to do with the decision and the company is moving cautiously to ensure it remains compliant with the law.
