Originally a measure taken by US Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1961, the purpose of the Wire Act at that time was to combat the spread of organized crime across the country. In that era, virtually all gambling in the USA, legal or illegal, was in some manner connected to the mob.
Yet today, the Wire Act of 1961 continues to make an impact on online gambling throughout the USA.
The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 is a federal criminal statute. It was signed into law by President John F. Kennedy. This act makes it illegal to pass gambling information and instructions across state lines via the usage of electronic wires.
Verbatim, here’s how the Wire Act of 1961 reads:
“Whoever being engaged in the business of betting or wagering knowingly uses a wire communication facility for the transmission in interstate or foreign commerce of bets or wagers or information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers on any sporting event or contest, or for the transmission of a wire communication which entitles the recipient to receive money or credit as a result of bets or wagers, or for information assisting in the placing of bets or wagers, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.”
Basically, the Wire Act was designed to prohibit using any sort of wire communication to play host to, or to be employed as a tout for any time of gambling. As well, using a form of wire communication system to place a bet or offer betting tips was also made illegal by this act.
In those days, they were basically talking about land line telephones. The Kennedys had no idea that mobile devices and the internet would become the future of gambling – or likely, that the day would arrive when gambling would become legal and regulated in the majority of US states.
Or that today’s online betting landscape would still be ruled over by the Wire Act of 1961 that they passed into law.
If you’ve ever wondered why when you’re playing online casino slots or poker games, or betting on sports online and you’re prohibited from doing so unless you are physically located in the state which is the location of your online casino’s license, this is why.
To allow you to say, be in New Hampshire and playing games with a New Jersey-licensed online casino would be a violation of the Wire Act of 1961. So if you’re thinking of being clever and utilizing a VPN in an attempt to circumvent this system, know that you’ll be committing a federal felony by doing so.
The Wire Act is also the reason why US-based online casinos prohibit the use of any blockchain-based currency, since it is relatively impossible to trace.
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