A New Initiative By US Anti-Online Gambling Faction

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Legalization of online gambling in the United States has made very slow progress in the last four years, but at least the change has been in the right direction. Three American states now have legalized some forms of online gambling and the Department of Justice has opined that the Wire Act does not prevent individual states from legalizing online gambling. But there are hurdles in the way. The biggest is Sheldon Adelson's Restoration of America's Wire Act (RAWA), currently as a bill in Congress.

It has been reported that RAWA is unlikely to get political support as the election year approaches. But Adelson and his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling are not sitting quietly. An alternative strategy is being pushed, which is imposing a two year moratorium preventing individual states from legalizing online gambling, giving Congress time to carry out a study on the ramifications. The moratorium option was first proposed a few months back, but is now being pursued vigorously in the corridors of Congress by lobbyists that are in the payroll of Adelson. This new initiative has been humorously dubbed as 'RAWA Lite' by a section of the media. The proposed moratorium has not yet been fully drafted. Apparently it has not been discussed in detail either. Adelson expects strident opposition to it from the three states that already have authorized online gambling, New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware. These states have been able to get bills permitting online gambling passed after much effort and will not concede the gains made. Therefore the lobbyists are reportedly suggesting that the final proposal may exempt states that have already authorized online gambling or online State Lottery.

Some online gambling experts have drawn a comparison between RAWA Lite and the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which granted an exception to Nevada for sports betting and exemptions to Montana, Delaware and Oregon for parlay-only betting. If the states are granted a time bound opportunity to opt for online gambling before the proposed moratorium comes into place, many of them are likely to hasten their processes and pass enabling laws. This would be contrary to the intentions of RAWA Lite's supporters.

Some political watchers feel that legislators may opt for the middle path of a moratorium in order not to offend totally both the pro and anti online gambling factions. However, the majority feel that the even the moratorium would be seen as impinging on the states’ rights in an environment sensitive to federal government overreach. The next few months will reveal which way the pendulum will ultimately swing.

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