Fax (304) 558-0140
fs i.`.. G, * * ...... ,,,,,,,,,,, State of West Virginia Office of the Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (304) 558-2021 Attorney General Fax (304) 558-0140 March 21, 2019 Via E-mail and Regular Mail Attorney General William Barr U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20530 Dear Attorney General Barr: We, the Attorneys General of West Virginia, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, write to express our serious concerns regarding the Office of Legal Counsel's recent opinion, "Reconsidering Whether the Wire Act Applies to Non-Sports Gambling" ("Opinion"). We ask for an opportunity to meet with you in the near future to discuss the potentially sweeping implications of this decision to our state lotteries, as well as potential solutions that are fully consistent with both federal law and the significant needs and reliance interests of our States. We also respectfully request that the Department extend the current window for compliance reflected in Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein's Memoranda to U.S. Attorneys, Assistant Attorneys General, and the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, until or beyond August 13, 2019. The Opinion reversed the Department's prior, 2011 interpretation of the Wire Act's scope, which had assured the States and other actors that 18 U.S.C. § 1084(a) prohibits only interstate transmission of information regarding sporting events or contests. The new Opinion, however, calls into question interstate transmissions related to all bets or wagers, even where fully authorized under relevant state law.
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