Without some form of action, a billion dollars a year in lottery revenue that flows to Michigan school coffers could be at risk. That is why Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has led nation-wide efforts to preserve billions of school dollars here and across the nation.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia, have already joined Nessel in fighting to preserve those dollars, as the coalition filed a brief late Wednesday in support of the New Hampshire Lottery Commission and two of its vendors, NeoPollard Interactive LLC and Pollard Banknote Limited. The brief was filed in New Hampshire Lottery Commission, et. al. v. United States Department of Justice, et. al., in the federal First Circuit Court of Appeals.
With more than $1 billion dollars in annual funding for Michigan schools at stake, Attorney General Nessel led the effort to file an amicus brief yesterday asking the First Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm the New Hampshire federal district court decision vacating the U.S. Department of Justice’s opinion that would encompass all types of bets and wagers in the federal Wire Act’s prohibitions.
The Michigan Bureau of State Lottery and the nation’s 46 other government-operated lotteries raised more than $80 billion in gross revenues in 2017. In Michigan, the net proceeds of those monies provide critical support for public education, but the money is also used elsewhere for college scholarships, environmental protection, senior citizens, first responders and infrastructure projects, among other things.
Nessel argues, “If the First Circuit reinstates the Department of Justice’s opinion, there would be drastic funding cuts to our public schools, and students who may need financial assistance to further their education would have fewer opportunities to do so.” She adds, “Aside from education, funding vital to emergency response and providing services to senior citizens, as well as protecting our natural resources, is at risk of being lost. The court must consider this loss and make a ruling to help the people, not an administration that has consistently made decisions without residents’ best interests in mind.”
The coalition opposes the Department Of Justice’s January 14, 2019 opinion, which reversed its 2011 opinion that the Wire Act applied only to interstate wire communications of sports wagers. The opinion reversal could threaten intrastate online lottery games and other games offered by Michigan and other states. The New Hampshire district court found that the DOJ’s opinion was legally incorrect, entered a declaratory judgment to that effect, and vacated it under the federal Administrative Procedures Act. The DOJ subsequently appealed.
Joining Michigan in filing the brief are Alaska, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Idaho, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Authorities report that the appeal is not yet scheduled for oral argument.
