Republican Florida Governor Rick Scott has come out against online gambling calling for Congress to pass a toughening of the federal wire act to ban the practice in the U.S.
Scott, meanwhile, is in negotiations on whether to allow the expansion of casino gambling in Florida with the Seminole Tribe, but made it clear he’s against online gambling.
In a letter to congressional leaders on the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, the governor urged Congress to toughen the Wire Act to bar online state lottery sales and reverse a Department of Justice ruling that allowed state to legalize intra-state online wagering.
“Allowing internet gaming to invade the homes of every American family, and be piped into our dens, our living rooms, our workplaces, and even our kids’ bedrooms and dorm rooms is a major decision,’’ the governor wrote. “We must carefully examine the short and long-term social and economic consequences before Internet gambling spreads.”
He asked Congress to “step in now and call a ‘time-out’ by restoring the decades-long interpretation of the Wire Act.”
Scott reportedly wrote the letter at the request of billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson who has personally spearheaded and financed opposition to online gambling and formed the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling. Adelson, a major contributor to GOP candidates, has gotten several prominent Republicans to join his cause.
Bills, penned by Adelson’s coalition, have been introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House to toughen the Wire Act and impose a ban.
Meanwhile, a group of 10 conservative and free market organizations have come out in opposition to the federal bill to toughen the 1961 Wire Act and ban online gambling in the U.S.
The groups sent a letter to the House and Senate leadership saying passage of the legislations would be “a broad overreach by the federal government over matters traditionally reserved for the states.”
The letter was signed representatives of the Alliance for Freedom, Taxpayers Protection Alliance, Institute for Policy Innovation, Institute for Liberty, and five other similar organizations.
“As we have seen in the past, a ban will not stop online gambling,” the letter said. “Prohibiting states from legalizing and regulating the practice only ensures that it will be pushed back into the shadows where crime can flourish with little oversight.”
