PPA Applauds DoJ Ruling: Online Poker Does Not Violate the Wire Act
Calls on Congress to Act Quickly to Pass Federal Legislation
Washington, DC (December 23, 2011)
– ThePoker Players Alliance(PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today applauded theruling by the U.S. Department of Justice that online poker does not violate the Wire Act, 18U.S.C. § 1084. The DOJ memo was apparently in response to an inquiry from one or more statelotteries as to the application of the Wire Act to intrastate sales of lottery tickets on the Internet.The memo, written in response by Assistant Attorney General Virginia Seitz, overruled the long-held position of the DOJ’s Criminal Division and found that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting.“This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law. For years, legalscholars and even the courts have debated whether the Wire Act applies to non-sporting activity.Today’s announcement validates the fact that Internet poker does not violate this law,” said JohnPappas, PPA’s executive director. “The PPA commends Assistant Attorney General Seitz for recognizing this. However, this ruling makes it even more important that Congress act now toclarify federal law, and to create a licensing and regulation regime for Internet poker, coupledwith clear laws and strong enforcement against other forms of gambling deemed to be illegal.”Until today, the highest court that has ruled on the Wire Act, the governing federal law, foundthat it only applied to sports betting. In
in re: Mastercard (2002)
the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a civil suit predicated on the idea that the Wire Act prohibited non-sports betting, and not other Circuit to date has found otherwise. Today’s announcement from DOJaccepts the Fifth Circuit’s position for the first time.Pappas continued, “This will provide policy makers at both the state and federal level with thelegal confidence to move forward with licensing and regulation of online poker and other non-sporting activity within their respective jurisdictions. However, it is our hope that our federal policy makers see this as an incentive to move quickly to enact federal licensing and regulation before various states produce a mix of individual state schemes that may not be the best model toserve consumers.”Federal licensing and regulation, likeH.R. 2366, the Online Poker Act of 2011, would create aU.S. regulated online poker framework, requiring all online poker sites to measure up to strictsafety and consumer protection standards – requirements that do not exist today. Moreimportantly, this bill will create an open and competitive market, giving players a choice of many sites on which to play against others from across the country and the world.“PPA’s million-plus members have spoken loud and clear: they prefer clear, consistent federallegislation to a patchwork of state laws to license and regulate the game they love. Protection of
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[Press Release] PPA Applauds DoJ Ruling: Online Poker Does Not Violate the Wire Act Calls on Congress to Act Quickly to Pass Federal Legislation (12/23/2011)
Washington, DC (December 23, 2011) – The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassroots advocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today applauded the ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice that online…
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