Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen Issues Update to Memo on the Applicability of the Wire Act to Non-Sports Gambling

In the December 18, 2019 memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys, Assistant Attorneys General, and the FBI, the Deputy Attorney General extended the grace period until June 30, 2020, on implementing the Office of Legal Counsel's (OLC) 2018 opinion finding that all but one of the prohibitions of the Wire Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1084, apply to non-sports gambling.  During the grace period, federal prosecutors should not apply the Wire Act to non-sports-related betting or wagering.  The Deputy Attorney General also directed that, to ensure continuity across the country, any Wire Act charges must be reviewed and approved by the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.