Over the past couple of years, the federal authorities have been trying to legalize online lotteries and other forms of gambling, but have failed. Currently, Iowa, Massachusetts, California, the District of Columbia and other states are trying to legalize online gambling, but could face too big of an obstacle. The Department of Justice has been trying to bring down all the offshore internet gambling operators they can spot. They even resorted to shutting down their websites and placing executives under arrest if they travel to the United States. Powerball lottery

The Department is unlikely to change the way it treats these operations as they violate the Wire Act of 1961 (which bans any kind of gambling over telecom systems that cross national or state borders) and other federal laws. The states’ move to permit online lotteries and other forms of gambling convinced US Senators Jon Kyl and Harry Reid to write a letter to the Department of Justice and demand an immediate shutdown of these efforts. Mega lottery

“In many cases, Internet gambling advocates in those states cite the silence of the Department of Justice in the face of these efforts as acquiescence,” the letter reads. “We respectfully request that you reiterate the Department’s longstanding position that federal law prohibits gambling over the Internet, including intrastate gambling (e.g. lotteries).”

Alisa Finelli, a spokesperson for the Department of Justice, simply said the department is thinking about it. We don’t know how much they are actually thinking about it as the Department of Justice is currently involved in a huge gun scandal, the Fast and Furious Operation, and has been accused of withholding important evidence from Congressional prosecutors. Lotteries

In the past several years, federal prosecutors issued letters to quite a few states, reiterating the ban on online gambling. In2006, Congress passed the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act, which bans any business from acquiring money over internet bets.

However, legal experts claim the law sends the states a very mixed message. It appears that the law provides an exception for states and the government could be able to run internet gambling operations. However, the bill’s legislative history shows it was not designed to amend any pre-existing law, which would mean that the Wire Act still stands.

“The legislative history is a real head-scratcher,” Mark Hichar, a lawyer specialized in internet gambling, stated.