Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) Reintroduced In Congress

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Friday, February 6th, 2015 | Written by Charles Washington

In March 2014, Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) to the House of Representatives, only to see lawmakers eventually pass on the bill in December. A few months later, and Chaffetz has now reintroduced an unchanged version of RAWA to the House, once again seeking to reverse the Department of Justice’s December 2011 interpretation of the Wire Act (1961) and “prohibit all forms of Internet gambling” in the US, with the exceptions of sports betting, fantasy sports and horse racing.

2011 Paved Way For US iGaming

On April 15, 2011, the US online poker market was decimated after federal authorities shut down the major offshore companies still operating in the country following the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006. On a day that came to be known as ‘Black Friday’, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, and Absolute Poker were forced to exit the huge US market, but later that same year the Department of Justice reinterpreted the Wire Act to allow individual states to regulate their own industries and offer online casino and poker games to their residents.

Currently, just Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware have taken advantage of the Wire Act’s reinterpretation, but after spending countless millions of dollars developing their online gambling industries, Chaffetz’s bill now threatens to pull the carpet from under their feet and remove the current legal justification for their continued operation.

RAWA Backed By Sheldon Adelson

RAWA is largely seen as the work of Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and the casino magnate’s Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG). Recently, the billionaire businessman reportedly paid a visit to Washington DC where he held a private meeting with a number of House Judiciary Committee members, all of which were Republicans and included Jason Chaffetz. Having reintroducing RAWA to the House on Wednesday, Chaffetz is expected to attend a conference in Las Vegas at the weekend, where he will be staying at one of properties of political ally Adelson, according to a tweet by Steve Tetreault from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Sheldon Adelson is perhaps the most vocal opponent of online poker in the US, and famously called it a “train wreck.. [and] a cancer waiting to happen.” For those poker enthusiasts hoping to see Chaffetz take a slightly less extreme approach to the industry and include a carveout for online poker, however, the representative had these choice words to say:

“There are some people who would like to see online gaming, or a poker carve out. My message to them is you think online gaming is good, introduce a bill and pass it.”

RAWA To Find Its Way Into The Senate Next?

Last year, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) introduced RAWA to both houses at the same time, but so far in 2015 Graham has yet to announce a reintroduction of the bill to the Senate, although he did signal his continued support for an internet gambling ban after spending a good amount of time grilling Loretta Lynch on the subject during a recent US Attorney General nomination hearing. Nevertheless, Graham is currently assessing his prospect of securing the Republican nomination and running for president in 2016, and having Adelson’s deep funding behind him will certainly require Graham to push for Adelson’s pet projects in return.

Chances Of Success?

While Sheldon Adelson has plenty of influence with the Republican party, which now has majorities in both houses of Congress, internet poker is not really considered a partisan issue and so the Republican leadership may simply decide to give low priority to trying to pass RAWA into law. Furthermore, any such attempts are bound to be fiercely resisted by opposition groups, including the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) and the Campaign for Liberty (C4L), whose President John Tate recently stated:

“Some in the GOP must think the American people are stupid. After successfully selling the American people on taking the United States in a new direction, members of the GOP think one of its first legislative priorities should be to limit economic freedom, impose top-down federal regulations, and expand the surveillance state.. I urge Campaign for Liberty members and all Americans who value Internet freedom and free markets, even if they don’t gamble, to contact their legislators and tell them to oppose the ‘Restoration of America’s Wire Act.’”