Legal Experts: Biden Administration Will Clear the Path Towards Regulation in the US
Published January 21, 2021 by Lee R
Licenses and operation of online casinos are now imminent with expanded application of the RAWA repeal.
A new legal opinion indicates the repeal of the Wire Act will be expanded to all forms of online wagering online, paving the way for regulated iGaming in the US.
Expert Legal Observations
The new Biden Administration is believed by Dickinson Wright legal experts Jeff Silver, Greg Gemignani and Patrick Sullivan set to conclude a lingering Wire Act controversy from the Department of Justice's (DOJ) 2018 opinion permitting sports betting across state lines.
The Course of Reversal
The subsequent dispute in relation to online casino stems from the early 2019 DOJ announcement reversing the opinion that Wire Act legislation only applied to sports betting.
Originally written in 1961, the interstate wire act prohibits all telephone or wired communication facilities from placing interstate wagers or distributing wager information.
The Final Legal Hurdle
The DOJ now claims the Wire Act is applicable to all forms of gambling – including online casino, poker and lottery. A subsequent New Hampshire Federal District Court rule against the interpretation has delayed expanding the repeal to iGaming, with the DOJ subsequently appealing the New Hampshire decision.
Dickinson Wright attorneys believe Biden will cut through the red tape across the board by both withdrawing the DOJ appeal and the 2018 Wire Act opinion that the repeal only applies to sports betting.
The Opinion
Dickinson Wright's attorneys, however, believe Biden will both withdraw this appeal and rescind the 2018 opinion:
"It’s anticipated that the Biden administration, under new leadership, will both rescind the 2018 opinion and withdraw its appeal.”
The legal experts confirm the belief that this is the final step for regulation of online gaming in the US:
"This should provide a clear path for expanded use of internet communications for other gaming products such as intrastate online games, interstate online games (other than sports) where conducted by licensed gaming operators in each state, and expanded uses of interstate-wide area progressives by commercial and tribal gaming operators."
Outlook
The full interview and examination of the decisions will be available in the January/February edition of Gaming Expert. Suffice to say, the arrival of the Biden Administration will among other things usher in the era of the regulated iGaming market in the US.
