Internet Gambling

Floor Speech

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Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, in 2011, the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, OLC, issued a legal opinion reversing 50 years of interpretation of the Wire Act. Lawyers there concluded the act does not ban gambling over the Internet, as long as the betting is not on the outcome of a sporting event.

In effect, this opinion means the Justice Department has stopped enforcing a law it had consistently enforced for five decades. Left on its own, the DOJ opinion could usher in the most fundamental change in gambling in our lifetimes by turning every smartphone, tablet, and personal computer in our country into casinos available 24/7.

The FBI has warned online casinos are susceptible to use for money laundering and other criminal activity, and online casinos are bound to prey on children and society's most vulnerable.

It took Congress a decade to develop the Wire Act. It took Congress 7 additional years to enact the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the 2006 law giving law enforcement new tools to shut down online casinos. DOJ's opinion gutted both laws.

Despite the wide-ranging implications of this opinion, there was no solicitation of public comment, nor any input sought from State and local officials. There is also no indication the Department considered the very significant law enforcement, social, and economic issues raised by Internet gambling.

We note that a number of States have authorized Internet gambling, despite the fact the DOJ opinion does not carry the force of law, a fact confirmed by our Attorney General, who, in response to questions posed during her confirmation proceedings, wrote, ``I am not aware of any statute or regulation that gives OLC opinions the force of law.''

The Attorney General is absolutely correct. Only Congress can change the Wire Act, and only the courts can interpret the act's reach.

To make clear that the Wire Act still bans all Internet gambling, the committee report accompanying the CJS appropriations bill includes the following statement:

Internet Gambling.--Since 1961, the Wire Act has prohibited nearly all forms of gambling over interstate wires, including the Internet. However, beginning in 2011, certain States began to permit Internet gambling. The Committee notes that the Wire Act did not change in 2011. The Committee also notes that the Supreme Court of the United States has stated that ``criminal laws are for courts, not for the Government, to construe.'' Abramski v. U.S., 134 S.Ct. 2259, 2274, 2014, internal citation omitted.

I was pleased to join with my colleague from California, Mrs. Feinstein, in offering this language. I appreciate the chairman and the ranking member having agreed to have it included with this legislation.

Any jurisdiction considering authorizing Internet gambling--and any entity seeking to participate in offering online casinos in this country--is well advised to consider that the Justice Department decision of 2011 did not change the Wire Act.

The question of whether there should be online casinos in this Nation has been polled widely over the past few years. It seems that no matter where one goes, Internet gambling is opposed by the public by wide margins, even in States where there is significant support for land- based casinos.

The public recognizes that there is something fundamentally different between having to go to a destination to place a bet and having a casino come to you, in your own home or office on an electronic device.

Regardless of how Senators may feel about this issue, I hope we can all agree that whether Internet gambling should be permitted in this country is a question for Congress to determine, not unelected Federal bureaucrats.

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