{"id":23311,"date":"2019-03-11T17:10:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T18:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=23311"},"modified":"2019-03-12T13:43:43","modified_gmt":"2019-03-12T13:43:43","slug":"judge-tells-pa-thanks-but-no-thanks-in-doj-wire-act-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/judge-tells-pa-thanks-but-no-thanks-in-doj-wire-act-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Tells PA Thanks But No Thanks In DOJ Wire Act Case"},"content":{"rendered":"
A judge has denied<\/strong> a request by\u00a0Pennsylvania\u00a0<\/strong>to become a co-plaintiff<\/a> in a case challenging the latest\u00a0Wire Act\u00a0<\/strong>opinion.<\/p>\n That does not mean the\u00a0Keystone State\u00a0<\/strong>is completely out of the fight though.<\/p>\n Judge Paul J. Barbadoro <\/strong>issued the order\u00a0in response to an 11th-hour filing by Pennsylvania late last week. Barbadoro turned down the state\u2019s request to intervene alongside original plaintiff\u00a0New Hampshire<\/strong>.<\/p>\n From the order, issued\u00a0Saturday<\/strong>, a day after Pennsylvania\u2019s request:<\/p>\n \u201cI deny the motion for substantially the same reasons that caused me to deny the prior motion to intervene. Further, I categorically reject the proposed intervenor\u2019s contention that it is entitled to intervene as of right in this case simply because an adverse ruling could affect the lawfulness of its state statutes under certain circumstances.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Barbadoro observed that the case before him filed<\/a> Feb. 15<\/strong>, does not<\/strong> involve Pennsylvania law. Thus, the Commonwealth\u2019s complaint is outside the jurisdiction of the\u00a0First Circuit Court<\/strong>. Additionally, he noted, \u201can adverse ruling by this court would not bind the proposed intervenor,\u00a0and nothing prevents the proposed intervenor from bringing its own action in a court with proper venue to protect its interests.\u201d<\/p>\n Pennsylvania, however, can still enter the fight against the Wire Act opinion. As Barbadoro concluded:<\/p>\n \u201cThat being said, I will grant the proposed intervenor amicus status with the right to file a supporting brief and present oral argument. I will reassess the issue if changed circumstances warrant a different conclusion.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Pennsylvania must file an amicus brief by Wednesday<\/strong> if it desires to take advantage of the judge\u2019s suggestion.<\/p>\n As\u00a0Online Poker Report\u00a0<\/strong>reported<\/a> Friday<\/strong>, New Jersey<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Michigan\u00a0<\/strong>each filed an amicus brief in New Hampshire\u2019s case.<\/p>\n All states argue that the\u00a0Department of Justice<\/strong>, which issued a broad reinterpretation<\/a> of the Wire Act, breaks not only the legislative intent of the act but also sways from the opinion of at least\u00a0two federal circuit courts<\/strong> that believed the Wire Act pertains solely to sports betting.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania, along with New Jersey and Michigan, just filed its request under the wire last week. The state\u00a0offers\u00a0PA\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>online lottery<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>on top of the traditional lottery games, and by the spring and summer, online PA sports betting<\/a> and PA online casinos<\/a> will hit the market.<\/p>\n With online betting<\/a> expansion on the horizon, Pennsylvania argued that the enforcement of the latest Wire Act opinion could prove undesirable<\/strong> for many.<\/p>\n From the state\u2019s filing:<\/p>\n \u201cGiven the use of wire transmissions for Pennsylvania Lottery games as described above, the broadest interpretation of the 2018 Opinion could result in the suspension of all state lottery sales, resulting in an immediate annual loss of over $1 billion in Lottery proceeds that benefit older Pennsylvanians.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n While Pennsylvania will not become a co-plaintiff with New Hampshire, it will still have some information to bring to the table.<\/p>\n Like all the other states that have entered amicus briefs, Pennsylvania will have the opportunity to submit\u00a0evidence and support<\/strong> for New Hampshire\u2019s case.<\/p>\n While\u00a0not directly relevant to the case, PA-related evidence can certainly be useful<\/strong> to the matter New Hampshire aims to address.<\/p>\n Once Pennsylvania files an amicus brief, which almost assuredly it will do, the First Circuit Court will review the original case<\/strong> and determine if it will be heard.<\/p>\n Per the DOJ, at least for now, states and properties within have until\u00a0June 14<\/strong><\/a> to comply with its recent interpretation of the Wire Act. Likely, though, this case could begin well before that time, as oral arguments could start as soon as\u00a0April<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The post Judge Tells PA Thanks But No Thanks In DOJ Wire Act Case<\/a> appeared first on Play Pennsylvania<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A judge has denied a request by\u00a0Pennsylvania\u00a0to become a co-plaintiff in a case challenging the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"vebbtech_seo_disable_yoast":false,"vebbtech_seo_hide_author":false,"vebbtech_seo_hide_date":false,"vebbtech_seo_hide_factchecker":false,"vebbtech_seo_fact_check_enabled":false,"vebbtech_seo_post_reviewer":0,"vebbtech_seo_post_review_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23311","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-link","6":"category-news-category","7":"post_format-post-format-link"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPA plaintiff request against DOJ denied<\/span><\/h2>\n
Other states have filed amicus briefs in Wire Act suit<\/span><\/h2>\n
PA arguments for joining the case<\/span><\/h2>\n
What\u2019s next for Pennsylvania?<\/span><\/h2>\n