This is the third in a six-pack of articles for Sports Handle discussing various federal statutes that in one way or another remain relevant to the expansion of legalized sports betting after the fall of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA). The first two parts on the Wire Act, are available here and here. This information is provided for information and entertainment purposes only.
Nothing contained in this series constitutes legal advice.
Toni from Tampa, Florida, asks:
What s the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act? Is it a criminal statute? What does it prohibit?
“… prohibits gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments in connection with the participation of another person in a bet or wager that involves the use of the Internet and that is unlawful under any federal or state law.”
Neil in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asks:
I was spending some time on Twitter.com and came across some commentary suggesting that UIGEA was some secret addition late at night to an unrelated bill and that no one even read it. Does this make UIGEA some type of lesser statute?
Dom from Hartley, Delaware, asks:
I heard that the NFL lobbied hard for the fantasy sports exemption in UIGEA, because they knew that those fans watched more content. Is that true?
Stay tuned for the second part of UIGEA’s Q&A and the remainder of the series.