Adelson takes online gaming fight to new heights

If ever there was an example of what happens when government policy is shaped by self-interest, Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt put it out there for all to see last week when he declared his intention to help ban online gaming in the USA.

Laxalt told renowned political reporter Jon Ralston he would be adding his name to a letter currently circulating among state attorneys in support of a proposed bill to be put to federal parliament called The Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), which would basically overrule legislation passed in 2013 allowing regulated online gaming in Nevada.

If passed, RAWA would deal a lethal blow to online poker across the whole country and make interstate lotteries illegal. It is also believed the bill could criminalize Nevada’s massive mobile sports betting business.

Laxalt has previously described himself as a defender of the rights of individual states and accused the federal government of abusing its power in passing certain legislation.

However, it is worth noting exactly who is behind RAWA – none other than Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands and of Sands China (owners of the Venetian Macau) Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson is a long-time opponent of online gaming which he sees as a threat to the profitability of his land based casinos such as The Venetian and The Palazzo in Las Vegas.

He also happens to be the man behind Laxalt’s shock victory in the Nevada Attorney General in 2014 after funding a powerful campaign against heavily favored Ross Miller.

While Laxalt has denied Adelson’s support has influenced his own policy, it’s impossible to ignore the obvious connection. His claims that he is acting in the best interests of Nevada are also dubious, with MGM CEO Jim Murren among those to question Laxalt’s actions.

“There is legislation out there to restore the wire act and states are looking at this – that would be setting the state of Nevada back 30 years,” Murren said.

“I very much hope our Attorney General doesn’t sign on because that literally would be saying ‘I am against the gaming industry in Nevada, I’m against jobs, I’m against social media, I’m against IGT, I’m against the largest employer in the state’.”

Nevertheless, it seems the online gaming industry’s fight for acceptance still has some way to go.