Thursday, May 11, 2006, 1:53 PM

Updates On New State And Federal Legislation Affecting The Gaming Industry

As a member of Womble Carlyle's Gaming Law Practice Group, I plan on using this blog to post about issues in the gaming industry even though such issues may not technically fall within the scope of antitrust and distribution law.

The front page of today's Greensboro New & Advance contained a story about efforts in the North Carolina legislature to ban video poker. Under the proposed ban only casinos on federally recognized tribal lands would be able to have video-poker machines. Currently, video-poker machines are allowed, but cannot pay out more than $10 in store credit.

At the federal level, Rep. Bob Goodlatte has proposed legislation to amend the Wire Act to make it clear that its prohibitions include Internet gambling. (The Fifth Circuit has held that the Wire Act only applies to wagering on sporting events, but the Department of Justice continues to assert that it has a broader application). The bill also prohibits a gambling business from accepting certain forms of non-cash payment, including credit cards and electronic transfers, for the transmission of bets and wagers, and provides an enforcement mechanism to address the situation where the gambling business is located offshore but the gambling business used back accounts in the United States.

If you have any questions about the scope of these proposed laws or any other gaming law issue, please feel contact me or any member of Womble Carlyle's Gaming Law Practice Group.

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