US courts narrow the Wire Act
Courts rejected the DOJ's 2018 bid to extend the Wire Act to all online gambling.
In 2018 the US Department of Justice reversed a 2011 legal opinion and asserted that the 1961 Wire Act barred all interstate gambling transmissions, not just sports betting — threatening online lotteries, poker and casino compacts. The New Hampshire Lottery sued, and on 20 January 2021 the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Wire Act applies only to sports wagering. The DOJ declined to seek Supreme Court review, leaving the narrower reading in place.
The 2018 Office of Legal Counsel opinion alarmed the US online-gaming industry, casting doubt on interstate poker liquidity pacts and multi-state lottery systems. A federal district court set the opinion aside in 2019, and the First Circuit affirmed in January 2021. With the government choosing not to appeal, the long-standing interpretation — that the Wire Act reaches only bets 'on a sporting event or contest' — was restored, removing a major cloud over regulated online casino and lottery expansion in the states.
The outcome protected the legal foundation for interstate online poker and lottery, and for state-regulated iGaming growth in the US.
A teaching summary, not legal advice. Dates and figures are simplified for learning; confirm against the primary sources before relying on them.