Author: Eric Ramsey

PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg has pled guilty to a federal online gambling charge in New York. The 73-year-old, beloved by much of the poker community, faces a maximum of five years in prison for directing an illegal gambling business in the US. News of the plea came Wednesday in the form of a press release […]

Prosecutions stemming from the 2011 shutdown of the world’s largest online poker sites are officially over. Honoring the recommendations of federal authorities in the Southern District of New York, Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Wednesday sentenced Isai Scheinberg to time served for his crimes related to illegal gambling. The founder of PokerStars, who with his son […]

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit heard arguments today on the scope of the federal Wire Act. The case, formally New Hampshire Lottery Commission, et al v. Barr, et al, pits the US Department of Justice against the cooperative expansion of state-regulated gambling. An opinion penned by the department’s Office of […]

Prosecutors in New York finally have their hands on Isai Scheinberg. As Forbes first reported, the founder of PokerStars surrendered to federal authorities upon entering the country from Switzerland a week ago Friday. Scheinberg, 73, stands charged with a number of gambling and financial crimes including money laundering and bank fraud. The defendant pleaded not guilty in […]

New Hampshire has won its lawsuit against the US Department of Justice clarifying the scope of a 1961 federal gambling law. In a 60-page ruling issued Monday, US District Court Judge Paul Barbadoro rejected a 2018 opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel which expanded the Wire Act to broadly cover interstate online gambling. The previous interpretation from 2011 applies narrowly […]

CONCORD, N.H. — On Thursday morning, a federal judge in New Hampshire will hear arguments in the legal challenge to the new Wire Act opinion issued in January by the US Department of Justice. The NH Lottery Commission brought the first action against that opinion, seeking to protect its online ticket sales and its ambitions for regulated […]

Acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker on Friday testified that he had no involvement in the recent Wire Act opinion that emerged from the Department of Justice. The nation’s top legal official delivered his statements during a contentious oversight hearing before the House Judiciary Committee, responding to contribution questions from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). Whitaker […]

In his first day on the job, US Attorney General William Barr is facing a federal lawsuit listing his name as the defendant. The New Hampshire Lottery Commission has brought a civil suit against Barr and the US Department of Justice, seeking an injunction on the new Wire Act opinion. The agency lodged its complaint on […]

Midterm elections are upon the US, and gaming and gambling issues will appear on the ballot in a few states. Arkansas is making a move toward legal sports betting under a proposed referendum which survived a last-minute legal challenge. Voters will decide the fate of the ever-expanding industry as it relates to them via a […]

Regulators in New Jersey want to crack down on illegal gambling sites operating offshore. Speaking with Gambling Compliance (paywall) this week, David Rebuck said that those involved in illegal operations will be denied licensure and driven out of the state. Rebuck is the director of the NJ Division of Gaming Enforcement, which has regulated NJ […]