Lesniak could introduce new NJ bill next week
Senator looks to take advantage of recent DoJ statement concerning Wire Act.
New Jersey Senator Raymond Lesniak could introduce a new intrastate egaming bill as soon as next week, following the recent clarification of the Wire Act by United States Authorities.
Last week’s statement from the Department of Justice (DoJ) concerning state lotteries in Illinois and New York explained that: “interstate transmissions of wire communications that do not relate to a “sporting event or contest,”…fall outside of the reach of the Wire Act.”
It is believed that Lesniak (pictured) hopes this explanation will help lessen the concerns held by Garden State Governor Chris Christie which led to his last-minute veto of an earlier bill from the Senator last March.
Lesniak said: “We can be the Silicon Valley of Internet gaming… It’s the wave of the future. It’s going to come and we can be in the lead on it.”
While details of the new bill are yet to emerge, the wording of the DoJ statement suggests interstate egaming activities would still be subject to the constraints of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
However it clarifies that “In sum, the text of the Wire Act and the relevant legislative materials support our conclusion that the Act’s prohibitions relate solely to sports-related gambling activities in interstate and foreign commerce.”
The Wire Act developments have, meanwhile, received approval from lobby groups such as the Poker Players Alliance (PPA), whose executive director John Pappas said in a statement: “This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law. For years, legal scholars and even the courts have debated whether the Wire Act applies to non-sporting activity. Today’s announcement validates the fact that Internet poker does not violate this law.”