Online Gaming & Sports Betting

(This post was originally published on 1/15/2019 and updated on 4/8/2019) On Jan. 14, 2019, the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued an opinion reversing its 2011 position on the Wire Act and sports betting, contradicting not just itself but decisions by at least two District Courts and dicta by the U.S. Supreme… Read More

As discussed in an earlier blog post, New Jersey’s licensing requirements for affiliate marketers impose significantly different structures depending on the revenue model. If the affiliate marketer only plans to work with casinos in a flat fee model (e.g. CPA or other form of pre-determined compensation), then they must register as a vendor. The vendor… Read More

On February 4, 2019, the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries (“NASPL”) issued a statement responding to the Department of Justice’s January 14, 2019, opinion regarding the Wire Act of 1961.  In its statement, the NASPL hints that the DOJ failed to consider the effects its latest Wire Act opinion would have on… Read More

  The Michigan legislature has passed a trio of bills that would legalize and regulate online gaming.  If these bills are signed into law, Michigan’s three commercial casinos and 24 tribal casinos will soon offer players sports betting, online poker, and online casino games.  In addition, these bills will pave the way for sports betting… Read More

Anticipating a positive ruling from the Supreme Court in Christie vs. NCAA, legislators in Indiana have introduced a new sports wagering bill.  Unfortunately, the bill includes a previously unseen poison pill in the form of a 1% “integrity fee” payable to the governing sports bodies: A sports wagering operator shall remit to a sports governing… Read More

Talk about a true David and Goliath story: David Yellin, an associate at Ifrah Law, recently called out Paul Clement, a true Goliath in the legal field. Unfazed by Clement’s impressive credentials – Clement boasts about his Supreme Court clerkship and his stints as Deputy Solicitor General and Solicitor General on his Kirkland & Ellis… Read More

App developers, take note: due to Apple’s latest “clean-up” project, you should review your current apps to ensure that they meet Apple’s new App Store Review Guidelines. Make sure that your app is not a clone, does not offer spam or pirated material, is up-to-date, and has a “unique feel.” What prompted Apple’s clean-up project?… Read More

The gaming industry – like many others – is constantly asking: what’s next? What is the next game or platform or innovation that will attract new players? To bring in new players and fans, many traditional casino operators have shifted their focus to video game-style games, which emphasize the player’s skill and utilize more engaging… Read More

This month Ifrah Law submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court in Christie v. NCAA, a pivotal case with far reaching implications for the gaming industry and state coffers across the country. The case asks whether New Jersey can offer sports betting in regulated casinos and race tracks in New Jersey. A… Read More

A new enforcement initiative  by the Securities and Exchange Commission, part of its proclaimed efforts to address cyber-based threats and protect retail investors, indicates that the agency is including Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) under its broad blanket of protection. Recent actions by the agency in the case of REcoin give more clues to its position… Read More

This week, in a joint statement issued by the People’s Bank of China, the securities and banking regulators, and other government agencies, the Chinese government declared that initial coin offerings (ICOs) constitute “illegal open financing behavior” and immediately froze all ICO activity.  The joint statement explained that the tokens issued in ICOs do not have… Read More

In a highly-anticipated brief by the Solicitor General, the United States argued today that the Supreme Court should not take up New Jersey’s challenge to federal laws preventing it from legalizing sports betting. Despite President Trump’s knowledge of, and seeming sympathy towards, the gaming industry, his Solicitor General claims that the “limited practical consequences of… Read More

The Masters golf tournament had quite an exciting finish this year and it also was a successful tournament for Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) operators. As reported by Dustin Gouker: “The Masters marked the unofficial start to the daily fantasy golf season at DraftKings… the metrics for Masters contests were impressive.” Such popularity inevitably leads to… Read More

Jacksonville attorney Kelly Mathis got some good news this week: State prosecutors have decided not to retry him on more than one hundred charges for gambling-related offenses. The State brought the charges against Mathis and fifty-six co-defendants in 2011, following a state-wide investigation of “internet cafes”—businesses that sell internet time to customers, who, with their… Read More

Gambling, including online gaming, lotteries, and land-based gaming, has tremendous participation in the United Kingdom.  One study concluded that 75% of the UK’s adult population gambled in some manner.  UK regulators take an aggressive approach to licensing, supervision, and enforcement of gambling laws and regulations, including gaming-related advertising.  As more U.S. states permit online gaming,… Read More

The lawsuits against Valve Corporation are continuing their tortured procedural paths from various federal courts to state court and back again. After filing a complaint against Valve and several co-defendants in federal court, the case was ultimately dismissed. Not dissuaded, the plaintiffs refiled against Valve in state court, in King County, Washington. Yet, as of… Read More

The NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) regulates various licensees that provide services to the online gaming industry within the state. The agency recently demonstrated its power of regulatory enforcement over the online gaming industry and its unique ability to protect consumers with its recent discovery that a licensee may have provided US residents with access… Read More

A tried and true military strategy is to cut off your enemy’s supply lines: blow up a bridge and force a retreat. The tactic works in other situations too. It is regularly used by legislators and government agencies to address what they view as problem behavior from a particular industry. Instead of targeting the industry,… Read More

On September 26, 2016, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that they had acquired two leading eSports teams, Team Dignitas and Team Apex. Not to be outdone, the next day Team Liquid announced they had sold a controlling share to Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and entrepreneur Ted Leonsis, who is the majority owner of the… Read More

Do you remember when I wrote about how a federal district court had ruled that an online poker account was akin to a bank account and should therefore be subject to FBAR reporting? It seemed nonsense to me at the time—and I also worried about whether the court’s expanded definition of a “financial institution” would… Read More

We are living in a virtual (or perhaps “augmented”) Pokémon explosion. You can’t get away from news of public craze over Pokémon Go. Players young and youngish have made the game today’s most popular app, outpacing Twitter and Tinder download rates. In less than ten days from its release, estimates are that almost 26 million… Read More

*photo obtained from https://gameora.tumblr.com/ In light of unprecedented controversy over the legality of “skin betting” and eSports gambling, Jeff Ifrah and two other attorneys took to Reddit to answer questions from players, fans, and professionals. Together with Bryce Blum and Ryan Morrison, Ifrah participated in an AUA (“Ask Us Anything”) thread on July 5, 2016—just… Read More

Defenders of DFS like to point out that it is skill-predominant. If the same can be said for public prosecution, then New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has been fielding one hell of a losing lineup. Between the two of them, DraftKings and FanDuel dominated the DFS space, and they still did after Schneiderman dumped… Read More

The iGaming world is excited about Assembly Bill 2863—better known as the Gray bill because of lead sponsor Adam Gray—which would legalize and regulate intrastate online poker in California. A few weeks ago, the bill unanimously cleared the Assembly’s Governmental Organization Committee; now it looks set to clear the Appropriations Committee as well. Those are… Read More

It’s a familiar sight: rows of men and women, on a bus or a subway, hands and eyes glued to their phones. But they’re not talking or texting or e-mailing. They are playing slots, though not for real money. This is the world of social casino – the subgenre of social gaming featuring casino-style games… Read More

Exchange wagering—a fixed-odds variant of pari-mutuel betting—is making its U.S. debut today.  Monmouth Park, a racetrack in New Jersey, has begun offering on-site and online exchange wagering in cooperation with Betfair US. Beyond its own races, Monmouth Park has agreements for simulcast exchange wagering on ten racetracks around the country, with plans to expand the… Read More

Today, the New Jersey DGE issued a “Director’s Advisory Bulletin” clarifying how it would apply its suitability rules to gaming license applicants who conduct internet gaming in other jurisdictions.  If you offer a game that is illegal in any jurisdiction, the DGE will consider you unsuitable and bar you from the New Jersey market.  The… Read More

Just last month at the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States (“NCLGS”) winter meeting in Orlando, I discussed the strong interest in skill-based games by casino owners, regulators, legislators, and the public. In an effort to appeal to millennials, fill empty slot seats, and expand the demographic at Atlantic City casinos, New Jersey’s Division of… Read More

*Image from CalvinAyre.com Ifrah Law founding partner, Jeff Ifrah, weighed in on the battle over bets in a recent newscast for ESPN’s “Outside the Lines.” During the program, Jeff observed that major league sports are getting accustomed to the idea of legalized sports betting: “They are willing to recognize regulation; they’re willing to recognize the legality… Read More

As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” It’s no secret that Atlantic City has faced its share of troubles. Gaming statewide continues to face transition, but after the dust settles, gaming in New Jersey, and even in struggling Atlantic City, should emerge stronger than ever. Following is the state of gaming… Read More

*This article first appeared in the January 2016 issue of eGR North America Magazine  Pennsylvania is the most likely, and has been making slow but relatively steady progress since it commissioned a study into online gaming back in 2014. Since then, several bills have been introduced. Efforts have stalled, but not as in other jurisdictions where… Read More

As a gaming lawyer, I get asked a lot of questions about what is legal and what is not legal. A lot of folks end conversations with me by scratching their heads and saying “that doesn’t make sense at all.”  The most recent head scratcher?  A lot of online sites recently offered to sell Powerball… Read More

Christmas didn’t come early for daily fantasy sports players in New York. A state judge issued an injunction this Friday ordering the two largest DFS sites, DraftKings and FanDuel, to shut down. The injunction was based upon the judge’s finding that DFS constituted illegal gambling under state law. Fortunately for the sites, their players, and… Read More

Daily Fantasy Sports (or DFS) offers daily excitement to millions of US sports fans, and it enjoys tremendous support from its fan base. That support was on display today in NYC, as more than 250 upset fans rallied in front of the Attorney General’s office. The rally in support of DFS was in response to… Read More

A federal court has soundly rejected a plaintiff’s contention that she suffered any real-world harm based on in-game losses of virtual currency.  In Mason v. Machine Zone, Inc., plaintiff Mia Mason alleged that she was a regular player of a free-to-play mobile game called Game of War (GoW): Fire Age.  GoW is a multiplayer online… Read More

PokerStars, the innovative online poker industry leader with a deeply loyal U.S. fan base, is making its highly anticipated return to the United States online gaming market.  New Jersey regulators have approved PokerStars’ parent company, Amaya, to partner with Resorts Atlantic City to offer online gaming platforms in the state through the PokerStars and Full… Read More

Photo courtesy https://outplayed.fr/  With a $143 million market in North America, eSports is big business in the U.S. And given its swift rise in popularity – 205 million people worldwide watched or played eSports in 2014, it will only become bigger. At last week’s eSports Conference, held in San Francisco September 9-10, industry leaders met… Read More

*This piece first appeared on the site LegalSportsReport.com on August 11, 2015 Welcome to one of the biggest business opportunities on Planet Earth: legalized sports betting in the United States, the land of the free and the home of 200 million sports fans. It hasn’t happened yet, but odds are, it will. And when it does, the… Read More

Texas Hold ‘Em is poker. This probably doesn’t come as a surprise to most, but the pronouncement was a serious disappointment to an Idaho casino. The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled this week that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe’s Idaho-based casino could not lawfully offer Texas Hold ‘Em on its site as the game was… Read More

It is ironic that recent proposed legislation that would expand the scope of the federal Wire Act comes from a U.S. senator in the South, where “states’ rights” has always been a rallying cry. This past week’s focus on the presence of the Confederate battle flag on the grounds of the South Carolina capitol (and… Read More

  As online gaming companies compete for business, they are offering customers increasingly large incentives to play on their websites, often in the form of deposit bonuses.  These deposit bonuses allow players to play with the bonus money as if it’s cash and keep the winnings (although players cannot cash out the bonus itself). However,… Read More

Minnesota’s legislature recently passed a bill that bars the Minnesota Lottery from offering online games, following a four month transition period. Specifically, the new law bans the lottery director from offering “the play of, on an electronic terminal, through a Web site, or by any other means or device, casino-style games, including but not limited… Read More

It’s not uncommon to see sports fans get emotional at a game, match, race, or fight. They feel invested in their team, invested in their athlete. For the sports bettors out there, that investment may be literal, but for most it’s largely emotional. So at the hour of defeat do disappointed fans have a legal… Read More

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has overturned a federal district court ruling that had permitted the State of Wisconsin to prohibit the Ho Chunk tribe from offering electronic poker on its reservation although such games are not explicitly and uniformly prohibited in that state.  This ruling may have implications for the… Read More

The 2015 Global iGaming Summit & Expo (GiGse) took place last week in San Francisco, and coincided with many exciting industry firsts. GiGse is the largest and most established event in North America which annually attracts over 700 iGaming and related industry professionals from all over the world. On April 20th, eGaming Review (EGR) North America, named Ifrah Law “Best… Read More

Most of the news from the Atlantic City Boardwalk over the last couple of years has not been promising. Several of the massive casino resort properties there have closed and/or slipped into bankruptcy, and the resale or reopening of the properties has been stalled by legal and financial hurdles. But a new plan for development… Read More

The House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations held a hearing last week to consider bill HR 707, the “Restoration of America’s Wire Act,” or RAWA.  The proposed bill would prohibit most types of online gambling, whether or not they have been legalized and regulated by any state. The bill was drafted in… Read More

It seems like, during the next Olympic Games in 2016, you will be able to bet your gold legally in Nevada on who will win the gold. Nevada gaming regulators have voted unanimously to permit the state’s sports books to accept wagers on the Olympic games for the first time in years. Nevada joins international… Read More

As Minnesota’s lottery system turns 25 years old, director Ed Van Petten has sought to follow the lead of the most technologically-advanced state lottery systems in the country by expanding into the profitable market of online ticket sales. However, at a time when many states have enjoyed the additional revenue that online lottery sales can… Read More

While billions of dollars of sports betting continues in the shadowy world of illegal off-shore sports books, the fantasy sports business has been on fire.  And as fantasy sports becomes the new hot “thing” online, it has continued to evolve: Dozens of companies are entering the market to offer everything thing from the increasingly common… Read More

As states continue to search for ways to generate additional revenue, several states have explored the possibility of selling lottery tickets online.  Online lottery ticket sales represent an untapped market for state lotteries that could see rapid expansion in the next several years and it also looks to be a hot issue in several state… Read More

Last week, without much attention, four new regulations affecting online gaming operations in New Jersey became effective under the authority of the Division of Gaming Enforcement. The rules include changes to directives on funding from social games, requirements for exclusivity, and operator server locations. However, the fourth rule is an addition which deals specifically with… Read More

If the past 10 years have taught us anything it’s that the future is not just online, it’s on the go.  For countless consumers, mobile and tablet devices are the preferred method of accessing online content.  After a slow start, gaming developers have come around to prioritizing mobile platforms.  All of this momentum has ground… Read More

This year’s G2E Conference in Las Vegas was held at the Sands Expo & Convention Center from September 29th to October 2nd. This premier gaming event is the largest floor show in North America with over 450 vendors and exhibitors, and also features key presentations by leaders in the industry. Firm founder, Jeff Ifrah was in attendance at G2E… Read More

Last week, the administration of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie issued a directive to the state’s casinos and racetracks allowing them to offer sports betting.  The direction was surprising to many who believed that the governor had yielded to the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the state’s appeal on the federal sports betting ban. Recently, founding partner of Ifrah… Read More

In the competitive world of land-based casinos, high roller “VIP” players are courted with a host of special perks and privileges. A casino’s proprietary VIP customer list represents one of its most valuable assets, almost akin to the secret formula of Coca-Cola. This is why the Maryland Live! Casino filed suit in federal court in… Read More

Last week, the Kansas Gaming & Racing Commission (“KGRC”) updated the “Frequently Asked Questions” on its website to reflect its position that fantasy sports leagues violate Kansas law against gambling.  Under Kansas law, a “bet” is defined as “a bargain in which the parties agree that, dependent upon chance, one stands to win or lose… Read More

On Friday, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed a bill that marked the latest effort to bring legal sports betting to the state’s casinos and racetracks marking another temporary setback, though the efforts may not be over.  The Governor stated in his veto message that the Third Circuit’s opinion from earlier this year striking down… Read More

  Earlier this month, the Kentucky Lottery Corporation (“KLC”) presented state lawmakers with a timeline for the launching of an online lottery ticket sales platform by the middle of 2015.  The KLC’s plan is to launch multi-state drawing games such as Powerball first and then launch other lottery products in the following months.  Online lottery… Read More

Photo Credit: Meinzahn Three more casinos are set to close in Atlantic City. Unions, politicians and lobbyists are pointing fingers. One thing is for certain, newly introduced online gaming legislation is not to blame. If experts had been paying attention to the trends, they would have introduced regulated online gaming into New Jersey years ago…. Read More

Sometimes you should be careful what you ask for. And sometimes even when you get what you ask for, it turns out not to be what you wanted. The U.S. Supreme Court recently denied a petition for certiorari by the State of New Jersey in the case challenging its sports wagering law as a violation of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection… Read More

  Florida continues to lead the fight against illegal gambling in Internet cafes.  In 2013, state and federal agents arrested dozens of individuals associated with Internet sweepstakes cafes operated by the “Allied Veterans of the World & Affiliates,” a purported charitable group.  These Internet cafes operated under a potential legal loophole.  Patrons were supposedly buying… Read More

On June 23, the United States Supreme Court denied New Jersey’s petition for a writ of certiorari to hear an appeal from lower court decisions that invalidated its sports wagering law.  This ends a three year fight to bring sports betting to New Jersey’s casinos and racetracks, but NJ State Senator Raymond Lesniak, who has spearheaded… Read More

Now that three states—Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey—have successfully launched online gaming, there is a flurry of proposed legislation as other U.S. jurisdictions seek to get in on the action.  A surprising number of the proposals seek to limit gaming to poker alone, forbidding real-money online casino games such as slots and blackjack.  Such proposals… Read More

  On Friday, a New Jersey state court judge threw out a lawsuit brought against the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City by six men who alleged that the Borgata was negligent in running a tournament in the 2014 Borgata Winter Poker Open which was cancelled after counterfeit poker chips were discovered in… Read More

In April the state of New Jersey issued warning letters to online gaming affiliate marketers who advertised unlicensed gaming websites in-state.  Now, one unlicensed operator is taking the warning to heart and withdrawing from regulated markets. Bovada, the largest online poker site in the U.S., will no longer be accepting new players from the regulated… Read More

Today, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, Department of Law and Public Safety, Division of Gaming Enforcement (“DGE”) released additional guidance for affiliate marketing companies working with state online gaming operators. This guidance comes only weeks after the DGE issued warning letters to affiliate marketers who advertised unregulated online gaming websites in conjunction… Read More

In a recent case in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, the district court held that the plaintiff’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) claim should be dismissed. The court ruled that the plaintiff gave prior express consent when she agreed to the terms of her health insurance plan, which stated that… Read More

Introduced as “S 6913” on March 29, 2014, New York’s online poker bill will allow for poker only, both cash and tournament play. The bill allows New York to enter into liquidity-sharing arrangements with other states. As of now, the bill authorizes 10 online poker licenses that are good for 10 years. The licensing fee… Read More

Online gambiling is up and running in New Jersey and it’s off to a strong start, providing a welcome shot in the arm for ailing Atlantic City. Lawyer Sarah Coffey offers some early analysis. Gambling-Insider-State-of-Opportunity

Jeff Ifrah and Sarah Coffey of Ifrah Law explain everything you need to know about the New Jersey iGaming regulations. Gaming-Intelligence-The-Law-According-to-NJ