The US Department of Justice has reversed its previous opinion that the Wire Act applied only to sports betting, setting up a showdown with the states that have launched intrastate online gambling markets.

In December 2011, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) issued an opinion that interpreted the 1961 Wire Act as only applying to online sports betting. This opinion paved the way for multiple US states to launch intrastate online lottery, casino and poker operations within their borders.

On Monday, a new OLC opinion (read it here) surfaced, initially spotted by Online Poker Report. This new opinion – dated November 2, 2018 and authored by OLC Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel – reverses that 2011 opinion.

Both the 2011 and 2018 opinions hinge on what is essentially a question of grammar, specifically, the absence of a comma in the section that prohibits “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.”