The NCSL Supports Online Gambling
Lines are being drawn. Politicians are choosing their sides. The issue is coming to the front of everyone’s minds, even going so far as to land a (poorly written, severely one-sided) feature story in Newsweek this week. Internet gambling is becoming a hot issue.
The NCSL, or National Conference of State Legislatures, is an organization that helps states improve the quality and effectiveness of the legislation in the United States. As you can imagine, this is a pretty important group. This past April, they contacted the head of the Senate and House via letter to state their opposition to the changes that they want to make to the Wire Act, which would outlaw Internet gambling. Now, they’re taking an official position, and they want online gambling legislation options to stay on a state level.
Asking the government to respect the ‘sovereignty of states’, the group maintains that each state has the right to allow or prohibit online gambling. The meeting took place in August, and during that meeting, more than two thirds of the group voted and said that states should absolutely have the power to regulate or prohibit online gambling.
This policy is being sent to politicians, and it states that the NCSL opposes any attempt to modify the Wire Act as it currently stands. The modification by the Department of Justice several years ago should be maintained, and online gambling should remain legal. Bills that are currently floating around the Senate and the House aim to change the Wire Act and prevent states from having the option to allow or prohibit Internet gambling.
The NCSL said “Any effort by Congress or the administration to reverse this ruling is preemptive and diminishes the flexibility of state legislatures to be innovative and responsive to the unique needs of the residents of each state.”
As you can imagine, this is huge news, and it has to make Sheldon Adelson livid. The man with unlimited funds has to be feeling the pressure now. He fully supports the changes to the Wire Act, and he has nearly unlimited funds, so he’s considered a huge threat to the progression of online gaming.
This can only be seen as extremely positive news. The power should definitely lie with the states. If they want to legalize online gambling and have their states get extra revenue, they should be able to. Some sites in the states where Internet gambling is legalized occasionally run no deposit promotions, which drives in more business, which generates more money for the state everyone resides in. It’s truly a win/win situation, and it’s a shame that Sheldon Adelson doesn’t see it that way. As we progress as a nation, one man and his money wants to see us fail. It’s too bad his dream will never come true.