Nevada Senator Harry Reid is about to retire, but it appears he doesn’t want to be remembered for allowing online gambling.
Though Reid has worked for and supported online poker legislation in the past, recent comments suggest he has joined Las Vegas Sands owner Sheldon Adelson in seeking to ban online gambling
In an interview with radio station KNPR’s State of Nevada program, Reid said “online gaming is not good for our country” and that “for the state of Nevada, online gaming is not the direction we should go.”
Reid further said he would support the Adelson-backed restoration of America’s Wire Act, which is currently in committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill would ban online gambling in the U.S. A similar bill has been proposed for the Senate.
Reid said the Senate would “give it a good hard try” to push it through.
The switch caught many off guard, especially as Reid had worked for federal regulations allowing for online poker in 2012 and several time previously.
Adelson spokesman Andy Abboud, in a statement to VegasInc.com, responded to Reid’s change of stance.
“I think Reid hears Mr. Adelson’s position, and I think the fact that they share that position speaks volumes about where he is on the issue.”
Conversely, the executive director of the Poker Players’ Alliance, John Pappas, reacted negatively.
“Senator Reid has been a vocal supporter of internet poker and the regulation of internet poker and I certainly hope that position has not changed,” Pappas said. “I think there’s clearly one casino interest in the state that opposes the bill, but Mr. Reid does have a lot of other casino interests and home-state employers that are very interested in seeing internet poker be prosperous.”
In a related matter, an online petition opposing RAWA has been gaining momentum online. Organizers hope that the petition—which state “If u love poker, let the President know”—will force the White House to take a public stance on the issue.
Organizers hope to collect 100,000 signatures.
