US Government Officially Bans Online Interstate Gambling

The USA Government released an official statement saying that they voted a complete ban of all forms of online gambling involving interstate transactions.

The US Justice Department decided to overrule its 2011 opinion where it was stated that only interstate sports betting was illegal. According to the new decision of the officials…

…all forms of online gambling involving interstate transactions are now prohibited.

Only Within State Borders

It is important to mention that all sorts of online betting where the wagers are placed from within the state borders will not be affected by this new rule. So, casinos are now obligated to not only be physically present within the state…

…but also to have an ultimately secure system that would ensure that no one can place a single bet from outside of the state the casino is situated in.

For now, it is not completely determined in what way will the gambling industry deal with this huge issue and comply with the new federal rules.

Some US states, like New Jersey and Pennsylvania, have already stated that they are openly against the revision of the Wire Act.

Industry Likely to Protest:

Now, the big question is how will this reversal affect crypto-based wagering platforms, like Augur for example.

The ones that will suffer the most from this decision are interstate lotteries as well as the poker games that run between Delaware, Nevada and New Jersey.

Also, according to the reports, the casino operator shares fell on Tuesday, so we can probably expect the industry to massively protest against this decision and to try to reverse it.

Reversal of the Wire Act

Back in January, the news about the potential total ban on online gambling came through and completely shocked the nation. The US Justice Department announced that they implement a rare reversal of the online gambling policy from 2011 called The Federal Wire act…

…and allegedly one of the main culprits for that is Las Vegas Sands Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sheldon Adelson.

“Restoring the original interpretation of the Wire Act takes great strides to protect children and society’s most vulnerable,” Senator, Lindsay Graham, said in the official statement and openly welcomed the decision.

The act only applied to sports betting, so in the past eight years, multiple US states launched interstate online lottery, casino, and poker operations. But, from now on the rule will apply to all sorts of interstate gambling.

Sports Betting Legislation

In May 2018, the US Supreme Court lifted the sports betting ban that was active since 1992. The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) was overturned and from now on each state can vote to legalize sports betting on its grounds.

In the past, wagering on sports event was prohibited everywhere except in Nevada, Oregon, Delaware, and Montana. This decision removed Nevada’s monopoly over sports betting in the US and created a wider and more competitive market for this type of gambling.

Source:

“USA bans online interstate gambling”, Niji Ng, europeangaming.eu, February 8, 2019.