Presidential candidate Marco Rubio had to field an inevitable question for any Republican who supports the Sheldon Adelson-backed bill to outlaw online gambling in the U.S.
Namely, “Are you doing this to get Adelson’s backing on your campaign?”
Adelson, owner of the Las Vegas Sands, is a major donor to Republican candidates and is the driving force behind the move in Congress to toughen the federal Wire Act and ban online gambling. Reports say Rubio has sought Adelson’s support for his presidential bid.
Rubio denied that his co-sponsorship of the restore America’s Wire Act had anything to do with Adelson.
“People buy into my agenda. I don’t buy into theirs,” Rubio told the Washington Post. “When I run for office, I tell people where I stand … My stands are not influenced by my contributors; I hope my stands influence my contributors.”
Rubio told the paper he has “a long history of opposing the expansion of gambling,” dating back to his tenure as Speaker of the Florida state House.
“I believe that for the most part, especially that kind of gambling, is a tax on the poor and does little to develop the economy,” he said.
Rubio is one of several co-sponsor of the measure, which was introduced in the U.S. Senate. A companion bill was introduced in the House of Representative in February.
“Expanded gambling presents many challenges, especially on the Internet where safeguards to protect people from fraud and addiction are harder to enforce,” Rubio said when the Senate bill was announced. “Congress should restore existing prohibitions on Internet gambling before beginning a public debate about next steps.”
Rubio’s involvement seems to have ignited new interest in the bill and reports say an intense lobbying effort—largely backed by Adelson—is underway to have the bills voted on before Congress breaks for the summer.
Still, opponents of the bill charge that Rubio’s co-sponsorship—along with principal sponsor Senator Lindsay Graham, another announced Republican presidential candidate—smacks of “cronyism.”
“They may have some deep moral beliefs about gaming that help guide them, but I think they are seeking the support and endorsement of a major political donor,” John Pappas, executive director of the pro-online gaming Poker Players Alliance told Vegas.inc.
Rubio has also been critical of casino gambling in Las Vegas in the past, but he has adopted a softer tone while campaigning.
“Vegas is Las Vegas,” he told reporters. “They have a right in Las Vegas to have any gambling they want. They have laws. They have legislators. They can vote on what they want or don’t want. In Florida, I have a long history of opposing expansion of gambling. When you talk about online gambling, that comes into Florida. That is potentially people, including young people, who are going to go online and gamble and lose money. I just don’t believe that’s the right approach for our country.”
