Press Releases
06/22/2021
Attorney General Tong Joins Coalition Fighting to Preserve Billions of Dollars for Schools and Essential Services
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General Tong joined a coalition of 26 attorneys general fighting to preserve billions of dollars for schools and other essential services across the country.
Attorney General Tong previously joined a coalition of 16 states and the District of Columbia supporting New Hampshire’s successful challenge in the First Circuit Court of Appeals to the Department of Justice’s Jan. 14, 2019 opinion, which reversed its 2011 opinion that the Wire Act applied only to interstate wire communications of sports wagers.
In a letter sent today to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the coalition, led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, urges the DOJ to abandon its erroneous position and adopt the reading of the Wire Act set forth by the First Circuit in New Hampshire Lottery Commission, et. al. v. United States Department of Justice, et. al.— specifically that the Wire Act only applies to sports betting.
The nation’s 47 government-operated lotteries raised more than $80 billion in gross revenues in 2017. In 2020, the Connecticut Lottery returned $348 million to the state’s General Fund. This money provides critical support for public education in Connecticut, and is also used for public health, libraries, public safety, and more.
“This interpretation of the Wire Act would be devastating for Connecticut,” Attorney General Tong said. “State-run lotteries are a consistent source of funding for schools, services for senior citizens and infrastructure projects. The DOJ must adopt the first circuit’s reading of the Wire Act and protect the funding states rely on to provide necessary services to their citizens.”
The letter notes that the First Circuit’s interpretation of the Wire Act is both more consistent with the language of the statute as a whole and is more consistent with the history of the Wire Act and urges the DOJ to adopt its reasoning in lieu of its Jan. 14, 2019 opinion. If not rescinded, the 2019 Opinion could leave states outside the First Circuit vulnerable to criminal prosecutions for Lottery games that bring in millions of dollars of revenue for essential state services.
Joining Attorneys General Tong, Nessel and Yost in sending the letter are the Attorneys General of Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.- Twitter: @AGWilliamTong
- Facebook: CT Attorney General
Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
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