The main threat to the expansion of online poker in the United States remains Sheldon Adelson and his cronies. And one of Adelson’s chief cronies is South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, who recently grilled Loretta Lynch, President Barack Obama’s nominee for US Attorney General, over the online gaming matter. That said, let’s discuss this exchange along with the implications that it could foreshadow.
Graham asks about Wire Act interpretation
Lynch appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee for seven hours to field a number of questions on topics such as Guantanamo, immigration and terrorism. During this session, Graham somehow managed to bring up the one topic that nobody else was concerned about – the US Department of Justice’s 2011 opinion that the Wire Act doesn’t include online poker and casino games. Here’s a look at what was said during the Q&A:
Graham: Online Gaming. Are you familiar with the decision by the office of legal counsel in 2011 to basically say that the prohibition in the Wire Act was limited to sporting events and contests?
Lynch: I’m generally familiar.
Graham: Do you agree with that decision?
Lynch: I haven’t read that decision Senator so I’m not able to really analyze it for you. Certainly I think it was one interpretation of the Wire Act that was.
Graham: Would you agree that one of the best ways for a terrorist organization or criminal enterprise to be able to enrich themselves is to have online gaming that would be very hard to regulate?
Lynch: I think certainly that with respect from those that provide material support and finance of a terrorist organization is that they will use any means to finance those organizations.
Graham: I’m going to send you some information from law enforcement officers and other people who have been involved in this fight and their concern about where online gaming is going under this interpretation.
Expect the battle to continue
It was definitely considered a win last year when Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) failed during Congress’ November lame-duck session. RAWA seeks to ban all forms of iGaming in the US and would be a disaster for online poker. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the push to institute RAWA ended last November.
As Graham’s line of questioning shows, there are still going to be plenty of attempts to further Adelson’s agenda. So the key hope for iGaming enthusiasts will be for politicians to continue supporting state’s rights and/or see Adelson’s self-serving campaign for what it is: an attempt to eliminate one more form of gaming competition that opposes his Las Vegas Sands empire.