In This Issue:

- I-GAMING IN THE UNITED STATES VERSION 2013: BACK TO THE STATES?

Optimism had inched higher that the United States would shift its i-gaming policy from a prohibitory approach to allowing some form of i-gaming. At the federal level, the growing optimism from supporters of authorizing i-gaming derived from a December 2011 Department of Justice (“DOJ”) memorandum opinion which concluded that the federal Wire Act, 18 USC § 1081, et seq., extended only to sports wagering. While the DOJ memorandum represented a complete reversal of long-standing interpretation of the Wire Act, the legal force of the memorandum is not the same as an act of Congress and would likely not be legally binding precedent. In any event, there was reason to believe that the DOJ memorandum could serve as the impetus for Congress to finally act on legislation authorizing some form of i-gaming in the United States.

- CONGRESS PASSES FISCAL CLIFF DEAL WITH POTENTIAL TAX BENEFITS FOR THE GAMING INDUSTRY

The end of 2012 and the early hours of 2013 for the United States were filled with anxiety with respect to whether the politicians could reach an agreement to avert the United States economy falling over the “fiscal cliff.” An agreement was reached in the early hours of 2013 in legislation passed by Congress entitled the “American Taxpayer Relief Act” (H.R. 8). The American Taxpayer Relief Act temporarily eliminates the risk of a shock to the economy which may have resulted due to the mix of drastic tax increases and cuts in federal spending. For the gaming industry, the American Taxpayer Relief Act operates to extend a host of favorable business tax law programs.