I’m Tashina Wortham with Konami Gaming and here’s what’s happening This Week in Gambling…

Hello friends… and thanks for joining me on This Week in Gambling! I’m J.Todd, and recently I was kicked off Farmers Only for not looking… “farmer” enough… but it’s all good… and here’s this week’s big story. Last week we reported that the U.S. Department of Justice had changed their opinion on the 1961 Federal Wire Act, saying they now BELIEVE the Act might apply to ALL forms of online gambling in America. That decision has caused a lot of confusion, a lot of fear, and a lot of worries, fear in the gaming industry, and moving forward… it will most likely a lot of legal battles. Discussion, disagreement, and debate are raging over what this decision actually means. Online gambling opponents think the DOJ finally got it right… online gambling supporters say the DOJ got it very, very wrong. Perhaps a more accurate look at the decision would come from, say, a neutral party. The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit libertarian think tank. They look at issues pertaining to free enterprise and civil liberty. They have no political dog in this fight. they stand to gain nothing from the DOJ’s decision but they took a closer look at the Department of Justice about-face on this issue. Their article calls the DOJ’s decision pretzel-logic which completely ignores the intent of the lawmakers in 1961… and completely dismisses the historical context of the Wire Act… But, the scary part? That’s not even the most dangerous part of what the DOJ has done here.

The Justice Department has done what’s called “judicial interpretive updating… that is, the DOJ fully admits that Congress very well may have intended the Wire Act to only apply to sports betting… But they don’t care! They have chosen to ignore that intent in favor of what they need the law to mean now! Well, that’s pretty damn convenient! You can find this article on our website at ThisWeekInGambling.com On the site you’ll also see plenty of news stories about how little the DOJ opinion has slowed state regulation of sports betting.

In fact, since the DOJ’s opinion was published, 5 more states and the District of Columbia have made gambling headlines. Our nation’s capital, Washington DC, is now less than 2 months away from legalized sports betting as the mayor there has signed legislation to regulate the activity… and Arizona, legislators there are considering allowing betting on sports at the state’s tribal casinos. Plus, 2019 legislation has already rolled out in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Hawaii… So you see, the DOJ’s decision hasn’t slowed down sports betting at all… AT ALL! Why would it slow down online gambling expansion? All we need now is for one state, just one, to step up and challenge the DOJ’s decision legally. And I’m looking at you, New Jersey! [MUSIC] Nevada, William Hill and the NFL were also making gambling headlines this week… more on that in just a moment. Up first, this week’s game review is for a casino skill game from our friends at Casinoslots.

Cover Fire is based on the popular iPhone and Android game, and you can play this casino version for money! It’s a third-person shooter game packaged on their TriStation cabinet, and you can watch this game review and hundreds more when you visit our YouTube channel. While you’re there… please be sure to subscribe and click that bell so that you get updates when we publish brand new videos. Finally this week, William Hill has announced that they are expanding in the state of Nevada… adding seven new where players can make sports bets. They also announced that they will be accepting prop bets on the upcoming Super Bowl… and not everyone is happy about that. The National Football League doesn’t like prop bets… they say such things could lead to cheating… and hurt the integrity and the image of their games. Hey, I gotta thought NFL… if you’re really that concerned about your reputation, perhaps you should focus more on players who do drugs, beat women, and murder people. Just a thought!