Where the federalist approach makes no sense, recent developments call for reform of Federal Gaming Laws

Yannick Adler, Albany Law School

Abstract

Recent developments in mobile technology (marketing and simple broadcasting) call for a change in the patch work approach of American gaming laws. Federal action is becoming inevitable. Recent court cases and out of court settlements show that substantial questions of interstate sweepstakes’ law remain unsettled. Where mobile technology neither cares about state borders nor about specific state laws it will be impossible to keep mobile sweepstakes from traveling through the country, just as a participant carries his cell phone across the border. The problem is intensified by the variance in defining common terms as lottery, sweepstakes, and contests, where a Federal Definition could take away a lot of the confusion.