No Online Gambling Ban In Federal Spending BillAgain, No Federal Action On Real-Money Online Gaming |
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The speculation that Nevada Sen. Harry Reid would get an online gambling ban into the omnibus spending bill is over, as such provisions aren’t in the measure, reported the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The Huffington Post caused a stir last week after speculating that Reid might be willing to cater to billionaire Sheldon Adelson’s demands to ban online gambling, including web poker, nationwide. Adelson’s Las Vegas casino business does offer mobile sports betting, which is gambling over the Internet, though, ironically, not considered online gambling in the traditional sense by most.
Adelson has argued that online betting, in the form that his competitors want it to exist, would hurt the brick-and-mortar casino industry in the United States. Though, there isn’t any evidence for the claim.
Nevada has a two-site online poker industry as well.
From the report:
The $1.1 trillion [federal] measure would fund most government operations through September of next year, making it a must-pass measure. It also contains dozens of individual policy provisions sought by lawmakers and special interests.
Fortunately for poker players holding out hope for their state to eventually authorize state-licensed Internet poker sites, a web poker ban wasn’t one of the provisions.
The odds of banning online gambling nationwide have never actually been good, despite sensationalist and misleading media reports claiming otherwise. In addition to Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware have real-money online gambling, and California is looking to authorize it next year. To discontinue the industries already running would be almost inconceivable.
Perhaps Adelson’s only intention is to slow its spread in the U.S.
“We believe that banning Internet gaming is bad public policy from our perspective,” Caesars Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Jan Jones Blackhurst told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We’re pleased this issue will be discussed openly and not hidden in some omnibus bill.”
Caesars is the owner of Nevada’s top poker site, WSOP.com.
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