Online Poker 'Moratorium' Being Discussed On Capitol Hill: ReportWith RAWA Efforts Stalled, Adelson Might Have Backdoor Option |
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Efforts to pass a bill to ban online casino games in America have stalled this year and don’t appear to have any momentum, but that isn’t stopping billionaire casino boss Sheldon Adelson from continuing the fight. He might have a new avenue to get the ban he seeks without actually putting legislation aimed to “restore” the 1961 Wire Act into the books.
According to a report from The Hill, sources have said that a two-year moratorium on real-money online gaming being legalized and regulated in more U.S. states is being discussed. The way to impose that would be through a federal study of the online gaming industry that would essentially put the brakes on Internet gaming’s already-slow expansion.
Online casino games are regulated in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware, but California, New York and Pennsylvania are all taking serious looks at the casino gaming sub-industry.
“An Internet gambling moratorium is nothing more than prohibition in sheep’s clothing,” the PPA told Competitive Enterprise Institute fellow Michelle Minton, who was writing for The Hill.
Fortunately, the moratorium would likely face the same kind of stiff opposition that the online gaming ban bills have faced. With the licensing of PokerStars in New Jersey, that state further demonstrated its commitment to being an online gaming hub. Pennsylvania could be on the verge of legalizing online gaming as lawmakers there are facing a potential $2 billion budget deficit.
States with online gaming have an interest in more states coming on board because liquidity is important, especially for peer-to-peer online poker play. Nevada and Delaware already share players, but because both states aren’t that populous the benefits have been minimal so far.
A hearing on the proposed online gaming ban was held in March on Capitol Hill. No additional hearings have been held on the topic, despite Adelson pledging to spend “whatever it takes” to do what he thinks will help his casino business.
One of the more complex aspects to an online gaming ban is how it would affect state lotteries that have turned to the Internet to boost sales. More than 10 U.S. states offer some form of online lottery services, creating a considerable opponent to efforts to prevent online gaming. The U.S. lottery is a $70 billion-a-year market. Some state lotteries have expressed Interest in online casino games. In Delaware, the lottery oversees the state’s three online gaming sites.
The booming daily fantasy sports industry happening in nearly all U.S. states has a carve-out from federal law pertaining to online gambling, but some in Congress now want to study that industry, which has some overlap with talks of federal sports betting legislation.
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