Insights < BACK TO ALL INSIGHTS
High Wire Act
FEATURED
September 22, 2026
High Wire Act
By: James Trusty
The federal statute known as the Wire Act (18 U.S.C. § 1084) has had a tumultuous history. For many years, the DOJ interpreted it to include restrictions on both sporting events and non-sporting contests. That changed dramatically in 2011, when the Office of Legal Counsel (“OLC”), responding to states seeking clarification before establishing state lotteries, published an analysis of the Wire Act. After a thorough analysis of the text and legislative history of the Wire Act, OLC concluded that Congress intended the Wire Act to apply only to sports-based gambling activity. 35 Op.O.L.C. 1(2011).[1] In reaching that conclusion, OLC found that Congress had clearly and directly focused upon off-track betting on horse races, as well as the expected negative effect…
Robert Ward on Helping iGaming Clients Outmaneuver Lawsuit-Obsessed Adversaries
September 8, 2026
Robert Ward on Helping iGaming Clients Outmaneuver Lawsuit-Obsessed Adversaries
By: Ifrah Law
Today’s iGaming companies face new litigation threats as expansive consumer protection statutes spark lawsuits with sky’s-the-limit aspirations, sometimes backed by private funders. Clients of Ifrah Law have a staunch defender in Robert Ward – an agile litigator and case tactician who responds to the changing state of play with creative legal defenses and efficient case-closing strategies. Robert draws on federal clerkship experience and appellate defense…
In the Market for Judicial Review: Circuit Split on CFTC Preemption Makes SCOTUS a Predictable Destination
September 1, 2026
In the Market for Judicial Review: Circuit Split on CFTC Preemption Makes SCOTUS a Predictable Destination
By: John Mikuta
The ongoing legal battle over whether the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) or state regulators have the authority to regulate sports-related prediction markets is heating up. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit turned away a challenge by Kalshi, the largest prediction market in the United States, to the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s letter ordering it to cease and desist…
The Upside to the College Betting Scandals
July 21, 2023
The Upside to the College Betting Scandals
By: Steven Eichorn
In May 2023, several high-profile sports betting scandals involving collegiate athletic personnel, including both coaches and players, came to light, spawning discussions about the relationship between sports integrity and sports betting. Two months after those reports, NCAA President Charlie Baker indicated that the NCAA has found 175 infractions of its sports-betting and gambling policy since 2018, with an additional 17 ongoing investigations. On its surface,…
Ripple Decision Shakes Up US Crypto
July 14, 2023
Ripple Decision Shakes Up US Crypto
By: Jake Gray
In an apparent boon to the cryptocurrency and broader blockchain industries, a judge in the US District Court for Southern New York ruled on Thursday that Ripple Labs Inc. did not violate federal securities laws in the offering and sale of the XRP token on public exchanges, meaning that the token could be relisted on public U.S. exchanges. Indeed, Coinbase, the United States’ largest cryptocurrency…
Thinking of Starting Your Own DFS Company?
July 3, 2023
Thinking of Starting Your Own DFS Company?
By: Sara Dalsheim
The expansion of daily fantasy sports (“DFS”) is on the rise in the United States. As the country prepares for the 2023-24 NFL season, it is around this time we see new products come to the market. Unlike sports betting, launching a DFS product has less regulatory barriers. Although, there are a few key states with regulatory compliance requirements that new contest operators should keep…
Circuit Court for the District of D.C. Upholds Compact: What this Means for Sports Betting in Florida
June 30, 2023
Circuit Court for the District of D.C. Upholds Compact: What this Means for Sports Betting in Florida
By: Abbey Block
Today, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision in West Flagler Associates, Ltd. v. Haaland, that will have meaningful implications for the future of online sports betting in Florida along with the interpretation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (“IGRA”). By way of background, in the spring of 2021, the State of Florida and the Seminole Tribe announced a compact under IGRA purporting…
Ifrah Law on Web3: Web3 Gaming
June 29, 2023
Ifrah Law on Web3: Web3 Gaming
By: Jake Gray
What We’ve Covered In the initial two blog posts of this series, we explored the fundamentals of the World Wide Web, focusing on its iterative issues and solutions as the technology evolved. We charted the history of the Web briefly, from its early stages of relatively isolated, static, and read-based websites to today’s rather centralized, interconnected, write-based websites, highlighting the underlying reasons and innovations behind…
