U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban Online Lottery Sales

Bipartisan bill would reverse a 2011 Department of Justice decision that expanded online gaming.

March 27, 2014

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) introduced bipartisan legislation, the Restoration of America's Wire Act, that seeks to restore the long-standing interpretation of the Wire Act and reverses the Department of Justice's abrupt December 2011 decision to expand online gaming.

“This is yet another example of the Holder Justice Department and Obama Administration ignoring the law,” said Graham, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “In 1999, South Carolina outlawed video poker and removed over 33,000 video poker machines from within its borders. Now, because of the Obama Administration's decision, virtually any cell phone or computer can again become a video poker machine. It's simply not right.”

“The DOJ opened the door for massive change in policy without significant public input. These fundamental changes need to go through Congress. By restoring the original interpretation of the Wire Act, we are putting the genie back in the bottle and allowing for an open debate to take place,” said Chaffetz.

The bipartisan legislation restores a long-standing interpretation of the Wire Act, reversing the Department of Justice’s 2011 decision that unilaterally expanded online gaming. NACS has strongly opposed that decision and supports the bill because it would block lotteries from going online.

The Graham-Chaffetz bill would return the Wire Act to where it was in 2011 before the Department of Justice reinterpreted the long-standing statute.?Traditional, retail store lottery sales and gaming establishments, in states where gaming was legal prior to 2011, would not be affected should the bill become law.

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