The New Hampshire Lottery has called the decision by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to not appeal the most recent legal interpretation of the Wire Act a ‘historic victory’.
Last week, it was confirmed that US lottery and gaming operators can trade without the threat of falling foul of the Wire Act after the deadline passed for the DOJ to appeal against the most recent legal definition of the federal act which found it applied solely to sports betting.
The DOJ’s inaction brings to an end nearly three years of obscurity for the gambling sector following a ruling in 2018 by the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) on behalf of the DOJ that overturned a 2011 ruling by extending the Wire Act to cover all forms of internet gambling.
That 2018 ruling was successfully overturned by the District Court for the District of New Hampshire in 2019 in a suit brought by the New Hampshire Lottery and NeoPollard. It was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in January this year.
The DOJ’s decline to appeal effectively ends the case in the lottery’s favour, and it confirms the Wire Act applies only to sports betting and not state lottery activity and other forms of interstate gambling.
New Hampshire Lottery Executive Director Charlie McIntyre released a statement in response to this DOJ decision, which read: “While we have been confident in this outcome throughout this process, we are extremely pleased to have closure. This case represents a historic victory for the New Hampshire Lottery and lotteries across the country.
“That said, the biggest winners are our country’s schools and a variety of other important causes that depend on lottery funding each year—literally billions of dollars in critical funding have hung in the balance. In New Hampshire, this outcome ensures the New Hampshire Lottery will be able to continue delivering more than $100m to New Hampshire schools each year.
“As the nation’s first lottery, we had a responsibility to challenge this opinion. We would like to once again thank the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office for its leadership, expertise and skill in guiding us through this process and ultimately to this monumental victory, preserving the New Hampshire Lottery as a critical resource for education in the Granite State for years to come.”
Earlier this month, Scientific Games extended its New Hampshire Lottery partnership for six years with the addition of the Scientific Games Enhanced Partnership (SGEP) program to create maximum funding for educational programs in the state.
