Gambling.co.uk: Gambling News Archive

Online Poker isn’t a Wire Act

Respected lawyer claims that Wire Act doesn’t apply to online poker

Friday 29th December 2006



Allyn Jaffray Shulman, a respected American legal figure, this week took an objective look at the 1961 Federal Interstate Wire Act for online poker room Card Player.com, in an article that points to the law as being outdated.

In her assessment, Shulman affirms that after researching the Wire Act, the playing of online poker is excluded from its reach for several reasons. The most obvious would be that the statute, which was introduced to disrupt the financing of organised crime, only prohibits sports betting and not online gambling, poker or anything more.

Shulman also points to recent proposed amendments to the Wire Act which would seem to demonstrate that legislators themselves do not fully believe that the statute prohibits online gambling activity.

The influence of the Wire Act, however outdated, has now seen the introduction of the UIGEA which specifically targets the transfer of funds between US citizens and online gambling companies.

Shulman’s full dissertation can be read at CardPlayer.com.




Source: OnlineCasinoNews