Congressman fishes for Adelson bucks with new anti-online bill

A US congressman has introduced a new federal bill that seeks to undo the Department of Justice’s 2011 opinion that the Wire Act applies only to online sports betting.

Last Wednesday, Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA) filed HR 6453, which seeks to “clarify the effect” of the 2011 DOJ opinion that affirmed the rights of US states to launch intrastate online gambling within their borders, provided they didn’t offer online sports betting.

The DOJ opinion was a response to requests by Illinois and New York regarding the ability of their state lotteries to offer online ticket sales and other products. The opinion, which was issued that September but only surfaced publicly two days before Christmas, paved the way for the US states currently offering online lottery, poker and casino products.

Fitzpatrick (pictured right) gets right to the point with his short and sweet bill, seeking to have Congress declare that the DOJ’s opinion “does not carry the force of law and shall have no force and effect for purposes of interpreting or applying” the anti-online provisions of the 2006 Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).