Online poker and other forms of non-sports internet gambling could become legal, thanks in part to a recently released U.S. Department of Justice opinion on a 50-year-old law.

Reuters reports that online gambling’s greatest enemy, the Wire Act of 1961, which the DOJ has previously contended forbids online gambling, may lose its teeth. The opinion changed the game by stating that the law applies to sporting events, not lottery ticket sales. The loophole could potentially open things up for poker and casino sites to become legitimate.

In theory, states could legalize forms of online gambling, potentially preventing federal laws from prevailing. Any changes could be too late to the previous online poker giants, whom the DOJ nailed earlier this year.

Web gambling gets boost from Obama administration [Reuters via Yahoo]

Previously: Congress To Legalize Online Gambling?

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