Another bill to ban online gambling in the U.S. could be coming in the House of Representatives to join a previously disclosed bill proposed by Senator Lindsey Graham.
According to published reports, Utah Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz is also preparing to introduce a bill that would restore a federal ban on Internet gaming.
The bill is similar to Graham’s bill and both could be announced together.
According to a draft of the bill released to lobbyists, the bill would “restore longstanding United States policy that the Wire Act prohibits all forms of Internet gambling.”
Online gambling in the U.S. had been considered illegal under the federal Wire Act of 1961, but the U.S. Department of Justice issued an opinion that the law only applied to sports betting in 2011. The DOJ said states could permit other forms of gambling—such as online poker—within their own borders. Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada have since approved online gambling in their states.
Las Vegas Sands owner, Sheldon Adelson has launched a largely privately funded campaign to overturn the DOJ ruling and place a ban on online gambling. While the bills from Graham and Chaffetz are similar to Adelson’s own draft bill, it is not clear if the efforts are connected.
The Adelson-backed Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, however, supports the move, and in fact wrote the bills.
“We support and applaud all efforts to restore the long-standing interpretation that the Wire Act prohibits internet gambling,” the coalition said in a statement. “It’s common sense that putting a virtual casino in the pocket of every American with a phone is bad public policy.”
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection—a group formed by MGM Resorts and the American Gaming Association to oppose Adelson’s efforts—has already released statements opposing the bills.
According to the Coalition, a ban on online gaming would:
• Block common sense protections. Technologically advanced safeguards that protect children from participating in gaming sites cannot be mandated through an online gaming ban.
•Threaten states’ rights. New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada currently permit regulated online gaming, and many state lotteries offer online products. An online gaming ban would revoke these states rights and threaten individuals’ rights to play popular online games like fantasy sports.
• Stifle innovation and growth. Trying to ban technological advances that consumers already embrace will drive consumers to an overseas black market that lacks even basic security protections. The millions of Americans who have a desire to participate in online gaming deserve protections to know which are safe and which to avoid.
“Banning all online gaming nationwide, as this bill effectively does, would put American consumers at serious risk,” said CCOP spokeswoman and former Congresswoman Mary Bono. “It is impossible to stand in the way of the internet; instead, we should embrace and shape these new technologies in a way that is safe for consumers.”
