Interstate online poker is officially legal as the saga surrounding the Wire Act is officially over. The U.S. Department of Justice failed to file an appeal in the lawsuit between the DOJ and the New Hampshire Lottery before the June 21 deadline. In January, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that said the Wire Act only applies to sports betting, and not all forms of online gambling.
By failing to appeal before the deadline, the DOJ has accepted the latest ruling and will not push to make interstate online poker compacts illegal.
As several states began legalizing and regulating the activity, there was an appetite for interstate compacts to increase the traffic and ultimately, the liquidity of the player pool. When states first began licensing online cardrooms, poker players could only compete against those that were also inside the state’s borders.
In August, the DOJ filed an appeal, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process long enough so that the first appeal wasn’t heard until last January, which upheld the District Court’s ruling.
By the time the most recent ruling was made, President Joe Biden was elected into office and his administration had much less of a desire to pursue this legal battle. During his campaign, Biden said that his administration would revert to the 2011 view of the Wire Act.
Since the battle over the Wire Act began, Pennsylvania and Michigan launched online poker markets, while West Virginia and Connecticut legalized the activity.
With the most recent development ending any legal ambiguity, coupled with Michigan legislation that explicitly allows for interstate online player pools, there is likely an online poker expansion coming soon.
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