Volume 39 ▲ Number 10 ▲ November-December 2022
Computer
Internet
Lawyer
Computer
Internet
&
The
The
Ronald L. Johnston, Arnold & Porter, Editor-in-Chief
Volume 39 • Number 10 • November-December 2022 The Computer & Internet Lawyer • 1
Federal District Court Sides with Prior Circuit Court
Opinion on Wire Act Interpretation
By Dennis M.P. Ehling, Stephen D. Schrier, Michael P. Trainor, Gregory A. Bailey,
Danielle B. Catalan and Nicole Bartz Metral
In a win for the online gaming industry, the U.S.
District Court for the District of Rhode Island has
entered an order in International Game Technology PLC
et al. v. Merrick B Garland & The United States Department
of Justice1 siding with the groundbreaking and inuen-
tial interpretation of the Wire Act2 by the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit in N.H. Lottery Comm’n v.
Rosen3 (“NHLC II”).
Importantly, the decision provides further peace of
mind for the iGaming industry as it relates to the threat
of prosecution under the Wire Act for wagers other
than sports wagering activity.
THE DISTRICT COURT DECISION
Plaintis, International Game Technology and IGT
Global Solutions Corporation (collectively, “IGT”),
sought a declaratory judgment that a 2018 Department
of Justice (“DOJ”) opinion (the “2018 Opinion”),
which held that the Wire Act applied to all forms of
bets or wagers (implicating online lottery ticket sales
in the process) only prohibits sports wagering activity.
Primarily, IGT sought to protect its products by seeking
declaratory relief that its online lotteries and iGaming
products would be free from federal prosecution.
On a motion to dismiss, the DOJ argued that IGT
lacked Article III standing to seek the declaratory relief
at issue. The DOJ asserted that (1) the DOJ had not
brought similar prosecutions after the expiration of a
DOJ forbearance period, and (2) the existence of the
NHLC II decision itself rendered the threat of future
prosecutions too speculative an injury to confer Article
III standing.
The district court denied the DOJ’s motion to dis-
miss, reasoning that the threat of prosecution faced by
IGT for its lottery and iGaming business was credible
enough to meet the requirements for an Article III
standing.
Dennis M.P. Ehling, Stephen D. Schrier and Michael P.
Trainor are partners in Blank Rome LLP. Gregory A. Bailey,
Danielle B. Catalan and Nicole Bartz Metral are associates
at the firm. The authors may be contacted at dennis.ehling@
blankrome.com, stephen.schrier@blankrome .com, michael.trainor@
blankrome.com, gregory.bailey@blankrome.com, danielle.catalan@
blankrome.com and nicole.metral@blankrome.com, respectively.
