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Sheldon Adelson = Big GOP money. "Adelson's newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was the only major newspaper nationwide to endorse Trump.[42][43] Adelson

Sheldon Adelson = Big GOP money. "Adelson's newspaper, the Las Vegas Review-Journal, was the only major newspaper nationwide to endorse Trump.[42][43] Adelson was also the largest donor to Trump's inaugural celebrations, with a $5 million donation to the celebrations.[44]" -- Wikipedia

cowpig 8y ago
This is spot on. The "word on the street" among lawyers I knew when the UIGEA[1] was passed in 2006 (which paved the way for black Friday[2]) was that Sheldon Adelson & the Vegas Lobby had pushed hard for this. The long-term aim, in their opinions, was to capture the online gambling market on a state-by-state basis via regulatory capture, because they had already missed the boat and were being out-competed by Pokerstars et al. It's no surprise that the regulations in e.g. New Jersey require a "partnership" with a land-based casino. edit: also, I should note that Vegas probably shot themselves in the foot doing this (at least short-term). Online gambling brought a surge of business to Vegas, and though the recession had a lot to do with it, the banning of online poker definitely hurt them a lot. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enforcement_Act_of_2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enf... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg
pnw_hazor 8y ago
Well it has been a felony for years in Washington state. Not really a Trump stronghold. "For Washington State residents, all gambling on the Internet is illegal, including all types of sports betting. " https://www.wsgc.wa.gov/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/sports-wagering-faq https://www.wsgc.wa.gov/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/... edit: quote+link
- int_19h 8y ago
  Anti-gambling sentiment and related laws in US date back to the 19th century. But those laws didn't discriminate between various types of gambling, it was all illegal. Washington is one of the states that never relaxed it fully. To this day, casinos are only legal on reservations, for example. https://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-gambling-laws.html https://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-gamb... So this all is separate from the Federal Wire Act, and the even more recent discussion on how to interpret it wrt online gambling.
  - pnw_hazor 8y ago
    Making all Internet gambling in WA a felony is a relatively recent thing. Passed by progressives for their political allies the Indian Tribes. (WA doesn't even get any share of the gaming proceeds.) I know it is separate from the Federal Wire Act, but I present it as a counter to the commenters here that seem to believe restricting online gambling is some kind of a Trump/GOP thing. Progressive democratic party politicians are more than happy to criminalize online gambling when powerful interest groups that give them money ask for it.
    - cheriot 8y ago
      Great point. The real story here is regulatory capture and willing politicians. This is what makes money in politics the enemy of every voters on both sides.

cowpig 8y ago

This is spot on. The "word on the street" among lawyers I knew when the UIGEA[1] was passed in 2006 (which paved the way for black Friday[2]) was that Sheldon Adelson & the Vegas Lobby had pushed hard for this. The long-term aim, in their opinions, was to capture the online gambling market on a state-by-state basis via regulatory capture, because they had already missed the boat and were being out-competed by Pokerstars et al. It's no surprise that the regulations in e.g. New Jersey require a "partnership" with a land-based casino. edit: also, I should note that Vegas probably shot themselves in the foot doing this (at least short-term). Online gambling brought a surge of business to Vegas, and though the recession had a lot to do with it, the banning of online poker definitely hurt them a lot. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enforcement_Act_of_2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unlawful_Internet_Gambling_Enf... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Scheinberg

pnw_hazor 8y ago

Well it has been a felony for years in Washington state. Not really a Trump stronghold. "For Washington State residents, all gambling on the Internet is illegal, including all types of sports betting. " https://www.wsgc.wa.gov/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/sports-wagering-faq https://www.wsgc.wa.gov/about-us/frequently-asked-questions/... edit: quote+link

int_19h 8y ago
Anti-gambling sentiment and related laws in US date back to the 19th century. But those laws didn't discriminate between various types of gambling, it was all illegal. Washington is one of the states that never relaxed it fully. To this day, casinos are only legal on reservations, for example. https://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-gambling-laws.html https://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-gamb... So this all is separate from the Federal Wire Act, and the even more recent discussion on how to interpret it wrt online gambling.
- pnw_hazor 8y ago
  Making all Internet gambling in WA a felony is a relatively recent thing. Passed by progressives for their political allies the Indian Tribes. (WA doesn't even get any share of the gaming proceeds.) I know it is separate from the Federal Wire Act, but I present it as a counter to the commenters here that seem to believe restricting online gambling is some kind of a Trump/GOP thing. Progressive democratic party politicians are more than happy to criminalize online gambling when powerful interest groups that give them money ask for it.
  - cheriot 8y ago
    Great point. The real story here is regulatory capture and willing politicians. This is what makes money in politics the enemy of every voters on both sides.