Florida governor wants the Wire Act back

Florida’s Republican Party governor Rick Scott, whom Our readers will recall was recently checked out by land gambling baron Sheldon Adelson as a possible recipient for election donations, has come out strongly in support for one of Adelson’s pet projects – the banning of online gambling in the United States.

The Miami Herald reports that whilst Scott is currently mulling the expansion of land gambling in Florida through the Seminole Tribe, he apparently takes an opposite view when it comes to internet gambling.

This week Scott wrote to US Congressional leaders in the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging them to reinstate the Wire Act, through legislation which seeks to ban most forms of internet gambling…including state lotteries.

The three-page letter hews closely to the Adelson scare tactic hymn sheet, claiming:

“Allowing Internet gaming to invade the homes of every American family, and be piped into our dens, our living rooms, our workplaces, and even our kids’ bedrooms and dorm rooms is a major decision. We must carefully examine the short and long-term social and economic consequences before Internet gambling spreads.”

Florida’s governor urged Congress to ‘step in now and call a time-out’ by restoring the1961 Wire Act, which in a policy change in December 2011 the US Department of Justice said applied only to online sportsbetting.

The Herald notes that Adelson is a major Republican Party donor and asked Scott to write the letter as part of his nationwide campaign to persuade federal politicians to institute a ban.

Along with three other presidential hopefuls, Scott was recently in Las Vegas to be looked over before political funding is made available, according to widespread US press reports.

Read a full copy of Scott’s letter here: http://miamiherald.typepad.com/files/internet-gaming-letter.pdf