Former congressman attacks Republican attempts to reverse OLC opinion on internet gambling

Former Congressman and respected Republican politician Ron Paul came out with all guns firing over the weekend in a hard-hitting opinion piece in Newsweek which condemned attempts to undermine the authority of individual states on the online gambling issue.

Paul was reacting to a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein from four Republican congressmen requesting a review of the 2011 opinion of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel that the antiquated Wire Act of 1961 applies only to sports betting (see previous reports).

“The Founders of the Constitution created federalism because it is the antidote to tyrannical power,” Paul wrote. “As James Madison said, “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”

Paul was defending the right of individual states to make laws regarding affairs and issues within their own borders, free from interference by the federal government.

This has particular relevance to states like Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania which have all approved legislation legalising and strictly controlling online gambling, and to a lesser extent a number of states that have legalised online lottery activity and are considering wider applications.

In his piece, Paul references the efforts of land casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and his lobbyists to bring about a federal ban through PR campaigns and political donations. He explains how technology has enabled individual states to ensure activity that they have legalised is contained within their borders and excludes underage and problem gambling, and criminal elements.

Despite this, the states involved have had to fight off repeated and so far unsuccessful attempts by federal politicians to reverse history by overturning the OLC’s thoroughly researched and law-based conclusions.

Paul suggests that these attempts to supercede state law by federal officials constitutes a black mark on their record.

“The danger of opening this Pandora’s box is obvious,” Paul writes. “Today, social conservatives may seek to ban state-regulated online gambling. But tomorrow, opponents of online ammo sales may use this precedent to advance their political agenda. Just how big would this domino effect of resisting the Tenth Amendment get?

“Gambling, like other controversial issues, are best decided in state capitals, not by federal dictates. The Founding Fathers recognized this fact. It is time for modern-day politicians to realize it as well,” Paul concludes.

www.newsweek.com/ron-paul-let-states-decide-gambling-786269