Michigan state Rep. Brandt Iden recently said the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion on the Wire Act was “a bunk DOJ opinion that has no legal standing.” Iden said the opinion was “pretty irrelevant” regarding his proposed legislation that would legalize sports betting and online gambling in the state. “It’s an opinion like anything else, and pretty much unenforceable. It certainly will not impact how we proceed in Michigan,” Iden stated.
He added he believes the DOJ memo, issued by Assistant Attorney General Steven A. Engel, was designed to create uncertainty and keep states from moving forward with regulated of sports betting and online gambling. “There’s no doubt that the DOJ put that opinion out there to try to halt legislators like myself and others who have made huge strides. They want to stop what’s going on in West Virginia, what’s going on in Michigan and that’s why they put that out there. It’s a scare tactic to make people think for some reason they have legal jurisdiction to make these activities illegal.”
Iden added, “I think this will be similar to the way the federal government is choosing not to act when states proceed with marijuana legislation. I don’t see the federal government wanting to get involved with this given the proliferation of lotteries in states and the many that have begun offering sports betting.” He noted state lotteries provide a significant source of state revenue and frequently help fund education.
“If the federal government were to make a move, I think you would see a lot of states step up and defend their rights. It could mean every state lottery with a Mega Millions jackpot or Powerball across the country is in violation. I don’t think any state is interested in shutting down the lotteries.”
In 2018, on the last day of Michigan’s legislative session, lawmakers passed legislation legalizing online gambling and online sports betting. But outgoing Governor Rick Snyder vetoed the bills. Following the veto, Iden said he’d start over and work toward passing a stand-alone sports betting bill.
He commented, “When the media gets a hold of misinformation and publishes it, it can make my job in educating my colleagues a little harder, but I still think the merits of our argument will win the day. The whole package passed by large bipartisan majorities. I think we’re going to do that again, put this on the governor’s desk with bipartisan votes and it’s going to get done, regardless of the DOJ opinion.”
Michigan’s new Governor Gretchen Whitmer previously stated she supports legalized sports betting.
