Sheldon Adelson Pushes His Internet Gambling Control Act

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Monday, January 27th, 2014 | Written by Adam Brown

Despite being a millionaire casino mogul, Sheldon Adelson is one of the most ardent opponents of online gambling in the United States and has been fervently crusading to have it banned since the UIGEA was re-interpreted in 2011 to allow for state-by-state lawful online gambling.

Consequently, the Las Vegas Sands CEO said he is willing to spend whatever it takes to have online gambling prohibited in the US, explaining: “My moral standard compels me to speak out on this issue because I am the largest company by far in the industry and I am willing to speak out..It’s a threat to our society — a toxin which all good people ought to resist.”

The Internet Gambling Control Act

As part of his ant-online gambling fare, the 80 year-old tycoon has been campaigning hard to drum up support for his Internet Gambling Control Act, which seeks to amend The Interstate Wire Act of 1961 to include both online poker and online casino games. Although his draft bill has yet to gain significant sponsorship in the US Congress, it has already received almost a dozen signatures from state politicians, as well as three state Attorney Generals, raising concerns from US interest groups, such as the Poker Players Alliance.

Amongst the supporters so far of Adelson’s Internet Gambling Control Act are state Attorney Generals Jon Bruning of Nebraska, Wilson of South Carolina, and Chris Koster of Missouri, as well as Tom Horne of Arizona, David Louie of Hawaii, Bill Schuette of Michigan, Tim Fox of Montana, Wayne Stenehjem of North Dakota, Marty Jackley of South Dakota and Peter Michael of Wyoming.

In his efforts to stop online gambling, Sheldon Adelson also helped launch advocacy group, the Coalition To Stop Internet Gambling, along with Las Vegas Sands VP of Government Relations and Community Development, Andy Abboud. As Adelson’s chief lobbyist Abboud, stated recently:

“We are prepared to mount full campaigns in every state where a bill is introduced to legalize any form of online gaming. We will also be doing education in all states to prevent the introduction of any bills..we are going to make it [online gambling] the plague.”

Poker Players Alliance wages campaign against Adelson

Despite Sheldon Adelson’s fight against iGaming, the USA’s 11th richest man still faces considerable resistance from advocacy group, the Poker Players Alliance, which has sworn to protect the rights of U.S. poker players through political or judicial means.

Concerning Adelson’s Internet Gambling Control Act, PPA executive director John Pappas was keen to highlight the fact that the Attorney Generals who signed his draft bill did not represent populous US states, perhaps inferring that they would have less to gain from regulated internet gambling. In addition, Attorney Generals do not actually have the ability to change state laws, although it should be remembered that when the 2006 UIGEA was passed it had the support of most state attorneys general. Therefore, the PPA said it is now working aggressively to prevent a repeat of the history which led up to the controversial online poker ban, with PPA executive director John Pappas, explaining:

“We’re working overtime to make sure the letters don’t gain momentum among state AGs. We understand 10 have signed already, and we’re hoping we can change their minds as well..We want them to earn every inch they try to get in this fight. We don’t want them to push any effort that goes unchallenged. Since this is the launch of their campaign, we want to make sure it comes hard-fought.”

Online gambling already regulated in three states

Three US states have already introduced regulated online gambling, with Delaware, Nevada, and New Jersey, having passed internet gaming legislation in 2013. So far, the more populous New Jersey market with 8.8 million people has generated $8.4 million in revenues for the six weeks up to December 31st, 2013, while Delaware with just 917,092 people has taken a paltry $253,000 over the same period.

Nevertheless, in 2012 it is estimated that the unregulated US industry generated $3 billion through the offshore market, giving an indication as to how much a fully functioning regulated internet gambling industry could potentially be worth. Naturally, such an injection of money could give a huge boost to cash-starved states still reeling from the recession.

Regarding Adelson’s anti online gambling crusade, analysts have pointed out that well-established gambling markets around the world, such as the regulated European online poker markets, have not experienced the doomsday scenarios touted by Adelson and his supporters. In fact, online gambling proponents are keen to highlight the risks associated with not regulating the industry, such as attracting disreputable offshore websites to proliferate their activities and operate outside the checks and controls of state regulation.