In this issue: DOJ Issues Blockbuster Internet Gaming Opinion.

On December 20, the United States Department of Justice released a Memorandum Opinion for the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, dated September 20, 2011, in which the Department of Justice declared that proposals by the states of Illinois and New York to use the internet and out-of-state transaction processors to sell lottery tickets to in-state adults do not violate the federal Wire Act. The DOJ Memorandum acknowledges what gaming lawyers have argued for many years, i.e., the Wire Act relates solely to sport-related gambling activities in interstate and foreign commerce.

The DOJ Memorandum opens the door to the legal operation of intrastate internet gaming beyond the implementation of internet sales of lottery tickets by state lottery agencies. Nevada and the District of Columbia have already enacted intrastate internet gaming legislation, and the state of Nevada has already commenced accepting intrastate internet gaming license applications. The horse is now effectively out of the barn and galloping away.

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