The US Department of Justice made a public statement on its stand about the Wire Act, 18U.S.C. § 1084. According to the statement, the said act will not cover other events aside from sports betting. The memo from the DOJ was a response to the inquiries made by Illinois and New York who questioned the intrastate selling of lottery tickets on the internet.

As stated in the memo, which was officially made by Assistant Attorney general Virginia Seitz, the DOJ maintained that the Wire Act will only apply to sports betting. In light of these issues, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) lauded the online poker industry’s victory because of the concise clarification on internet poker’s.

PPA’s Executive Director John Pappas stated in relation to the issue, “This is a much needed clarification of an antiquated and often confusing law. For years, legal scholars and even the courts have debated whether the Wire Act applies to non-sporting activity. Today’s announcement validates the fact that internet poker does not violate this law.”