On Thursday, October 16th, Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Sturla introduced House Resolution 1095 into the Pennsylvania General Assembly, a bill which encourages the United States Congress to not give in to Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and his cronies who want to make sure Americans cannot play poker online.
United States Senator Lindsey Graham (R – SC) and Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R – Utah) introduced the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) in their respective chambers of Congress in March under bill numbers S 2159 and HR 4301. If passed, RAWA would roll back a clarification made by the U.S. Department of Justice in late 2011 in which it said the Wire Act of 1961 was applicable only to internet sports betting. Prior to the clarification, the law was interpreted as prohibiting all forms of online gambling, but the DoJ’s correct update made it known that it only had to do with sports betting, as it had been intended all along.
A number of states immediately got to work on legalizing and regulating online gambling and to date, Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey have active intrastate internet gambling industries. This has not made online poker’s opponents happy, particularly Adelson, who is the deep pocketed billionaire behind the protectionist RAWA bill.
Rep. Sturla, along with his co-sponsors, see RAWA for what it is, a pile of bullshit, and is calling on Congress to not fall for it. In the short bill, Sturla warns, “A Federal prohibition against Internet gaming would directly and negatively impact Pennsylvania by foreclosing the future potential of Internet gaming to generate tax revenue, to create economic and employment opportunities, including high-tech software jobs, and to foster valuable business ventures for Pennsylvania casinos.…”
He adds, “This prohibition would preclude the Commonwealth’s ability to create a legitimate online poker industry within its borders, drive illegal operators out of business and protect consumers….” And that the “Passage of these measures as Federal law would be inimical to the interests of this Commonwealth, which has been at the forefront of a well-regulated casino gaming industry for nearly a decade and which recognizes the benefits of Internet gaming and the future potential thereof….”
In a press release, the Poker Players Alliance (PPA) executive director John Pappas applauded Sturla and his co-sponsors, saying, “The Pennsylvania legislature has made it clear that they are interested in the possibility of licensing and regulating online gambling in the state; therefore the passage of this resolution is critical to ensure the state has the right to move forward with legislation without unwarranted restrictions from the federal government. The bottom line is that states should have the option of providing their residents with a safe and regulated place to play online poker within their own borders.”