Opinion ID: 2204251
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Has Congress expressly authorized the state regulation of Internet gambling?

Text: ¶ 9 Congress has the authority to regulate matters affecting interstate commerce and also the authority to delegate such regulation to the states. See Ne. Bancorp, Inc., 472 U.S. at 174, 105 S.Ct. 2545. If Congress grants the states authority to regulate a certain matter, a state's regulation is consistent with the commerce clause. Id. [B]ecause of the important role the Commerce Clause plays in protecting the free flow of interstate trade, Congress' delegation of that authority must be `unmistakably clear.' Taylor, 477 U.S. at 138-39, 106 S.Ct. 2440 (quoting South-Central Timber Dev., Inc. v. Wunnicke, 467 U.S. 82, 91, 104 S.Ct. 2237, 81 L.Ed.2d 71 (1984)). ¶ 10 Here, the State argues two Congressional acts manifest unmistakably clear intent to delegate to the states the authority to regulate on-line gambling. Neither of these acts manifests such intent. The acts cited recognize and expressly preserve a state's authority to criminalize some or all gambling activities within the state's borders, but nothing more. ¶ 11 The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), codified as 31 U.S.C. §§ 5363-5367, prohibits any person engaged in the business of gambling from accepting money in any form for participation in unlawful Internet gambling. Id. § 5363. The UIGEA recognizes that some types of bets are rendered unlawful under state law, id. § 5362(10)(A), and clarifies that it does not alter any state gambling laws, id. § 5361(b). Nowhere does the UIGEA permit the states to regulate gambling activities outside their borders or without regard to the commerce clause. ¶ 12 The federal wire act of 1961 (Wire Act) criminalizes the use of wire communication facilities [2] to place bets through interstate or foreign commerce. 18 U.S.C. § 1084(a). The Wire Act then clarifies it does not prevent transmission of information assisting the placement of bets from a state where the bet is legal to another state where it is legal. 18 U.S.C. § 1084(b). Again, the Wire Act recognizes the states' authority to regulate the type of gambling permitted within its borders, but does not delegate any authority to regulate interstate commerce with impunity. ¶ 13 Congress has not delegated to the states its authority to regulate interstate Internet gambling. The dormant commerce clause is applicable here, as the Court of Appeals correctly held. See Rousso, 149 Wash.App. at 351-57, 204 P.3d 243.