Another libertarian body pans adelson attempts to ban internet gambling

Sheldon Adelson’s jihad against legalised online gambling in the United States took another blow this week when the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an independent libertarian body, attacked the Graham-Chaffetz banning bills as heavy handed proposals that trample on states’ rights and the rights of individual citizens to make choices.

Reporting on the CEI opposition, the Washington DC publication Roll Call said the organisation’s report “Republicans’ Bad Bet” claims the banning bills will have a number of negative impacts, including pushing American players to foreign-owned operators where they may be at greater risk.

“Not only does this heavy-handed proposal trample on state and individuals’ rights to make such decisions, it will utterly fail to stop Americans from gambling online,” the report claims.

The Republic reports that in a congressional hearing last month before a House Appropriations subcommittee, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said the Justice Department could revisit the issue of the department’s policy decision in December 2011 that the Wire Act applies only to sports betting.

“We’ll look at the statute,” Holder said in a response to questions from Rep. Frank R. Wolf, a Republican from Virginia. “I don’t know what the – I frankly don’t know what the administration’s policy or policy determination would be with regard to that question, but we’ll certainly look at the statute and provide the technical assistance that might be required.”

The Republic additionally reports that another libertarian organisation, Reason Magazine, has also has criticised the Chaffetz – Graham legislation in a blog post in April, calling the measure the “Chaffetz-Graham-Adelson bill” because of the involvement of Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, a Nevada-based casino magnate.

Related and similar