Online poker was the biggest winner in this week’s Wire Act decision. The judge in the U.S. District Court case of New Hampshire vs. the Department of Justice ruled that the Interstate Wire Act applies only to “activities associated with sports gambling” and not to the interstate sale of online lottery tickets. This decision seems to kill the DOJ’s recent re-interpretation that the act somehow applies to all online gambling. Here is a closer look at how Monday’s federal court decision affects online poker, sports gambling and fantasy sports. For online poker, the court decision represents just about the greatest…

Hoosiers may have wait a little longer than expected for the Indiana sports betting launch. Gaming Commission Executive Director Sara Gonso Tait said last week that state regulators might not be ready by September 1st to allow sports betting, even though a law approved earlier this year makes it legal beginning on that date. Tait said commission members are aiming to have everything in place to start on time but can make no promises. Indiana residents will be able to place bets by using their smartphones or at a casino, horse racing casino or an off-track betting facility, such as…

Ahead of the launch of Internet casino and poker betting July 15, the Pennsylvania Online-Gambling Self-Exclusion program has been announced. This comes as the very first of these online-gambling services, online sports betting as offered by Philadelphia’s SugarHouse Casino, has come online in a soft launch after receiving the go-ahead from PGCB regulators. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board debuted its “self-help tool” which will allow potential online gamblers to voluntarily exclude themselves from the state’s new online gaming activities, including sports wagering, casino games, and poker. Those interested in excluding themselves can do so either online or in person at…

On May 31, 2019 Twitch streamer and content creator Jaime Staples broke the news that several of his gambling content YouTube videos were removed from his channels overnight. At first, two videos were missing related to his My Ultimate Sweat Challenge where he was giving away a seat into the PokerStars Players’ Championship in the Bahamas in January of 2019. This number ballooned to a staggering 150 videos out of around 1,000 total in just a couple of days. Staples currently has one ‘strike’ from YouTube against his channel. “The strike means you can’t upload (videos) for a week, and…

Illinois sports betting legislation was passed over the weekend and will most likely bring legal sports betting to the state. The bill will allow sports betting online and at the state’s casinos, racetracks and at larger sports facility. According to ESPN, sports betting licenses will cost the operators $10 million and are valid for four years. Operators will be taxed at 15 percent of their total revenue. The bill now heads to the desk of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who is likely to sign the bill later this month. “Today is the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work, determination…

The federal judge in the New Hampshire case against the Department of Justice has ruled that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting. In doing so, he set aside the Justice Department opinion that the act applies to online gambling and poker, which some feared could put states in danger of losing their online lotteries and regulated Internet betting. In 2011 the DOJ concluded that online gambling within states that was not sports betting  did not break the law. However, last November they changed their opinion on the matter and chose to interpret the act as applying to any…