Fist Fights in U.S. Congress Over Internet Gambling?
Added: April 7, 2014
Not yet at least, but it could come to that. Stand back a bit, as of late, it’s starting to look like the Wild Wild West in the U.S. Congress .
Here is yet another chapter in the continuing back and forth saga in the United States over legalizing online gambling. As recently forecast by online casino experts, new legislation was just brought to the the chamber floor. This new bill, crafted by Senator Lindsay Graham and U.S. Representative Jason Chaffetz, aims to put an end to online gambling in the United States.
This legislation, as it stands now, would effectively ban most, if not all, forms of online gambling throughout the country. That is, this bill would specifically prohibit online poker, online slot machine games and other online table games. You may wonder what’s left, if anything.
On the other side of the aisle, a statement was released through the Democratic Governor’s Association. This press release came out strongly against this new bill, stating in so many words their strong disapproval of any sort of legislation banning Internet gambling.
The timing of this new legislation is especially interesting considering the success stories coming out of the the three states that have set up some form of online casinos within their borders. All three of them, Nevada, New Jersey and even tiny Delaware are reporting initial success and are looking to expand their online casino options.
If you recall, none other than land based casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson is alleged to be behind this new legislation. Do you remember what he said last year? He publicly proclaimed he would spend any amount of money necessary to make Internet Gambling illegal in the U.S. As you probably know, Sheldon Adelson just happens to be the CEO of the mega land based casino, Las Vegas Sands.
Is this just money down the drain for Sheldon? Or will he keep funneling money into his cause until he gets his way? Down here at this level, at this stage of the game, it is almost impossible to predict. If nothing else, this will be an interesting drama to watch as this bill winds its way through Congress.
On the other hand, perhaps this will turn out to be perfect timing. Perhaps the new legislation combined with the strong opposition to it will finally force Congress to do something, to address this issue one way or the other. Stay tuned as this story unfolds.