Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | April 2014 34 S heldon Adelson’s crusade against online gambling in the United States has scored its first victory in the form of companion bills introduced last month in the Senate and House of Representatives to outlaw the industry. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, both Republicans from conservative Republican states, are sponsoring the legislation, which is designed to shut the door the US Justice Department opened in 2011 with a legal decision that reinterpreted a decades-old federal prohibition on interstate gambling to apply only to sports betting. Since then three states—Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware— have legalized Web gambling in different forms, and more tax- hungry state governments are expected to follow. He’s Got Clout Sheldon Adelson muscles a bill to outlaw Web gambling into the US Congress The American Gaming Association responded to the bills immediately and critically. The land-based casino industry’s Washington lobbying arm supports legalization in line with the interests of its dominant Las Vegas-based members, MGM Resorts International and Caesars Entertainment. “It’s really simple. This ban on all Internet gaming would make American families and consumers less safe online,” said Mary Bono, a Republican former House member who chairs the AGA’s recently formed Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection. “There isn’t any question whether Americans are gaming online. They are,” she said.“Congress should be focused on keeping them safe, not shutting down existing consumer protections.” The legislation also is being watched closely by Nevada senators FEATURE