U.S. District Court Verifies Federal Wire Act Appeals Only to Sports Wagering

U.S. District Court officially confirmed that the federal Wire Act applies only to sports betting activities. This decision is mainly important for the U.S. lottery industry, which expressed numerous concerns regarding the transmission of lottery data over the Internet…

…whether in connection with traditional retail or online lottery sales. The decision made by Judge Paul Barbadoro protects the New Hampshire Lottery and NeoPollard Interactive from the threat of unlawful prosecution in New Hampshire, Michigan, and in every U.S. state where the company operates.

iLottery in Problems?

In January 2019, OLC came up with a new opinion concluding that the Wire Act grew its influence beyond the context of sports wagering. Such opinion criminalizes the interstate transmissions of all bets or wages regardless of being related to sport or not. Moreover, it reversed the conclusions of the 2011 opinion which turned into a threat to shut down the flourishing iLottery industry.

The Wire Act subjects to criminal liability any person who “knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers.”

For that reason, the NH Lottery Commission, NeoPollard Interactive and Pollard Banknote, the New Hampshire Lottery’s technology providers, ed forces and immediately sought a declaratory judgment in federal court. They wanted to clarify that the OLC’s new Wire Act interpretation was based on an incorrect reading of the statute.

Continuous Contribution

Doug Pollard, Co-Chief Executive Officer of NeoPollard believes that this decision represents a great success for the Lottery industry generally and iLottery specifically. As he sees things, the sale of both iLottery games and national and regional multi-state games across all sales channels will continue to contribute significantly to lottery sales in the United States. Commenting on the decision, Pollard said as follows:

“In of iLottery, we know first-hand the positive effect that these operations have not only on sales but on the overall player experience. We look forward to continuing to provide state-of-the-art iLottery products and strategies to lotteries as they explore new, interactive sales channels.”

Positive Response from Players

Executive Director of the NH lottery, Charlie McIntyre, is more than satisfied about maintaining a strong partnership with NeoPollard. This collaboration makes it possible for them to provide entertaining online products that deliver an enhanced play experience to all the consumers. As he declared:

“We are pleased that not only will our national and regional multi-state game sales carry on, but also important that our own relatively new yet highly successful iLottery operations will be able to continue. Since the launch of our iLottery program last year, we have seen an increasingly positive response from our players, resulting in higher returns to education programs in New Hampshire. We are grateful for the leadership and from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, NeoPollard Interactive and Pollard Banknote in this highly complex matter.”

Source:

“U.S. District Court Confirms Federal Wire Act Applies nly to Sports Betting Activities”, Niji Narayan, europeangaming.eu, June 13, 2019.