Republican Platform Supports Prohibition Of Online GamblingRenewing American Values Document Calls For Reversal Of Justice Deparment's Wire Act Clarification |
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The Republican Party’s national convention is underway in Tampa, Florida, with Mitt Romney and running mate Rep. Paul Ryan each to be formally nominated on Thursday.
Republican delegates have since signed off on the GOP’s platform, a statement that encompasses the party’s stance on various subjects and issues. Among those mentioned in the “Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods” section, is a brief, but strongly worded statement that takes a hard stance against all forms of online gambling.
Last December, the Department of Justice offered their clarification of the Interstate Wire Act of 1961, stating that the law only applies to sports betting and book making.
However, in a section titled “Making the Internet Family-Friendly,” the GOP called for a reversal of the decision. The statement reads as follows:
“Millions of Americans suffer from problem or pathological gambling that can destroy families. We support the prohibition of gambling over the Internet and call for reversal of the Justice Department’s decision distorting the formerly accepted meaning of the Wire Act that could open the door to Internet betting.”
In May, the White House released a statement of their own, responding to an online petition by the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) calling for the federal licensing and regulation of the online poker industry.
President Obama’s administration sided with the Department of Justice’s stance on the Wire Act, but felt that online poker regulation was a matter best handled at the state level, not federal.
“The Administration understands that many Americans engage in paid online poker games for entertainment purposes. Online gambling on sporting events or contests violates federal law. The legality of other forms of online gambling is dependent upon the law of the states where the bettor or gambling business is located. It is left to each state to determine whether it wishes to permit such activity between its residents and an online poker business authorized by that state to accept such wagers, but online gambling that is not authorized by state law may also violate federal statutes.”
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