According to USPoker.com’s Steve Ruddock, who has been on top of this subject from the get-go, a fifth name has been added to the witness list for tomorrow’s hearing on the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations. Fortunately, unlike most of the other witnesses, it looks like this one could be on the side of the poker player.
The new panelist is Andrew Moylan, the Executive Director of the R Street Institute, which is, according to its website, a non-partisan think-tank whose mission is “to engage in policy research and outreach to promote free markets and limited, effective government.” Despite the “non-partisan” part of the description, R Street certainly skews conservative; much of the Institute’s focus is on free markets.
Moylan is in no way an expert on poker, but his stance is much more likely to be on the side of online gambling, as he frequently writes about states’ rights issues. It is quite possible he was added as a nod to House Committee on the Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R – VA), who himself is a major proponent of states’ rights. Goodlatte and Moylan are already familiar with each other, as Moylan has submitted testimony to the Committee on the Judiciary in the past. Last year, he submitted sixteen pages of opinion for a hearing on internet sales taxation in which, among other things, he said such taxation would violate states’ rights.
Poker Players Alliance Executive Director John Pappas is pleased with the addition of Moylan to the panel, telling USPoker, “Andrew Moylan and R Street are a strong and credible voice in holding Congress accountable on matters of federalism and the 10th Amendment. Given RAWA’s serious implications for the rights of states to authorize and regulate internet gaming, Mr. Moylan will be a welcomed voice on the panel.”
Bob Goodlatte is actually an interesting character in this whole fight against the Restoration of America’s Wire Act. He was one of the leading players behind the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA), displaying unreal hypocrisy in attempting to abolish online poker while at the same time including a carve-out for online horse racing betting. Of course, horse racing is an important industry in his state, so he might as well try to eliminate competition, just like Sheldon Adelson is trying to do with RAWA.
One thing the UIGEA did, though, was also carve-out an exception for intrastate online gambling and Adelson’s RAWA would shut all of that down. Not only would that counteract the UIGEA, but it would also fly in the face of the 10th amendment, which means so much to Goodlatte. Despite his role as the Republican sugar daddy, Adelson seems to be struggling to find the support for RAWA amongst many conservatives, as they are having a hard time accepting RAWA’s role in spitting on states’ rights.
