Online Gambling Opponents Float Watered Down RAWA Lite Bill

Home » Poker News » Online Gambling Opponents Float Watered Down RAWA Lite Bill

Thursday, October 1st, 2015 | Written by Lucy Brown

Former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul has never been shy about speaking his mind when it comes to issues regarding government controls. Earlier this month, Paul wasted no time voicing skepticism about the Restore America’s Wire Act (RAWA) and even went so far as to say that any Republican candidate that supports the act is likely to lose the support of millennials. He strongly feels that among the youngest voters, moves to ban gambling will be a major sticking point in the upcoming election, and perhaps it was this, as well as number of other negative factors, which has recently caused Sheldon Adelson to move away from the proposed bill, to a less ambitious one called “RAWA Lite”.

What Went Wrong With RAWA?

For those who aren’t familiar, RAWA is a piece of legislation that would overturn the 2011 US Justice Department opinion that allows states to determine whether or not they wish to permit online gambling within their borders. Since the 2011 decision, New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada have legalized iGaming, and many other states have introduced legislation to try and do the same. If RAWA passes, online gambling would be illegal in all 50 states.

The oped that Paul penned for “U.S. News and World Report” in early September wasn’t the first time that Ron Paul has expressed displeasure over the act. Paul is skeptical about the man who he sees as being the driving force behind online gambling, Sheldon Adelson (photo), the billionaire who serves as CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.

In his oped, Paul states that millennials see a lack of consistency between Republicans who say they are for liberty and small government but in the same breath support RAWA. Paul said that candidates like Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio who have spoken out in favor of RAWA are bowing to special interests rather than taking steps to make America free-er. Although he did not specifically mention Adelson in his writing, Paul did refer to a “billionaire casino mogul” in the piece, clearly referring to the casino magnate.

The article was also critical of “hawkish foreign policies” that encourage conflict overseas. Paul has said many times that the U.S. should not maintain military bases overseas and has criticized Adelson and others for contributing to campaigns in order to further the political and military interests of Israel and other foreign countries.

The Argument for RAWA

So what does Sheldon Adelson say is his reason for pushing so hard for RAWA and making online gambling illegal? He claims he is doing it for the children. Adelson has said numerous times that he feels online gambling affords underage people to gamble illegally. He contends that only land based casinos can be trusted to keep teens from gambling away their fortunes or children from stealing their parents’ money to gamble online. Ron Paul and many industry insiders don’t buy Adelson’s arguments, especially in light of a recent series of sting videos that show how easy it is for underage people to play on the casino floors at Las Vegas Sands Corp-owned properties.

RAWA Lite

Following a lack of progress, Sheldon Adelson and his minions have now adopted a new approach to their problem, referred to as RAWA-lite, which aims to introduce a moratorium on internet gaming expansion at a federal level. Interestingly, RAWA-lite was first suggested back in July, but recently more details have been brought to light, one of the most important of which is a proposed freeze on legalized online gambling in the country pending the result of what will no doubt be a biased scientific study on the impact of iGaming in the US. The reason any conclusions reached would most likely be one-sided is because Adelson’s cronies control the Senate and House committees, both of which happen to be the bodies tasked with conducting those policies.

While Adelson obviously believes this new approach may advance his goals further than his hugely unpopular RAWA, it is also possible the casino magnate may instead succeed in driving more states towards adopting regulation of their own in order to ensure a grandfather designation for their potential industries. California and Pennsylvania, for instance, might be keen to avoid a situation like that experienced by New Jersey, which cannot offer legalized sports betting, unlike the states of Oregon, Delaware, Montana, and Nevada. This is because New Jersey failed to take advantage of a one-year long carve out that was designed to help its application following the passing of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 1992.