RAWA

RAWA Hearing set to bash US iPoker unopposed on March 26

On March 26, a U.S. government subcommittee will hold a hearing to discuss the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) – an effort to ban all forms of iGaming. Originally scheduled for March 5, but canceled due to bad weather, this meeting figures to present some extremely biased views against U.S. online poker and casino games. And the bad part is that anti-iGaming nuts will be presenting their views unopposed! That said, let’s discuss more on this matter and what figures to happen.

The witnesses are mostly against online gaming

The hearing, which will be presented to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, will include 14 politicians – 5 of whom are cosponsoring Jason Chaffetz’s (R-Utah) proposed RAWA legislation. 

As if this isn’t bad enough, most of the witnesses have been hand-selected because of their unfavorable views towards iGaming. Below you can take a quick look at who’s set to testify on the matter:

John Kindt – Professor Kindt is a staunch opponent of online gaming who’s authored plenty of scathing articles on the subject.

Les Bernal – As the National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling, Bernal not only dislikes iGaming, but also land-based casinos.

Mike Fagan – This law school professor has an unfavorable view of iGaming, mainly because he thinks it could be used for criminal activity.

Parry Aftab – An attorney who will be the only witness with a pro-online gaming opinion.

The hearing should include plenty of fear mongering

Up until this point, proponents of RAWA – namely Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas Sands billionaire who’s putting the money behind this legislation – have failed to produce any legitimate studies or research that show iGaming is worse than the brick-and-mortar variety. Furthermore, there’s no concrete evidence that shows online gaming is the primary money-laundering vehicle for terrorists, as is often purported by Adelson and his cronies.

Nevertheless, those in favor of RAWA will have their center stage on March 26 to bash online poker and casino games and to claim it will spread underage gambling and terrorism. And unfortunately, there’ll be no gaming regulators, law enforcement agents or pro-iGaming politicians to say the contrary. 

It’s unclear what Adelson, Chaffetz and other anti-online gaming interests stand to gain from the subcommittee meeting. But whatever it is, the simple fact that Adelson can gain such a hearing through his overly generous campaign donations is a little disheartening.

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