Sheldon Adelson has picked up some important allies in his fight to ban online gaming in the U.S. as at least 10 state attorneys general have signed onto a letter to Congress asking to keep a federal ban in place. The letter was presented last year to the Republican Attorneys General Association and has been sent to congressional leaders and the House and Senate Judiciary committees.
The letter points to social problems associated with problem gamblers.
“Online gambling exacerbates problems associated with gambling addiction and we’re proud to be working with a number of other states to address the issue,” reads the letter.
Adelson has pledged to stop online gaming and has even dipped into his personal fortune to finance the campaign.
Three states—Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware—have legalized online gambling. The states moved after the U.S. Department of Justice ruled that the anti-fraud Wire Act only prohibits online sports betting and not other types of online gambling.
The attorneys general—led by the attorneys general from Missouri, Chris Koster (D), Nebraska, Jon Bruning (R), and South Carolina, Alan Wilson (R)—asks lawmakers to clarify the Wire Act to prohibit online gaming.
“Given the inherently interstate nature of Internet gambling transactions, we anticipate that it will become increasingly difficult to effectively regulate such conduct as additional jurisdictions consider legalizing Internet gambling,” the letter reads.
The Poker Players Alliance has been actively fighting against the proposed ban and has asked supporters to contact state officials. Nearly 8,500 tweets and more than 9,000 letters and emails in support of online gambling have been sent according to the alliance.
