Introduction of RAWA to the U.S. Senate imminent

Staff members in the offices of Sen. Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina politician supported by land casino baron Sheldon Adelson and rumoured to be angling for nomination as president, have confirmed that the senator is about to re-introduce his Senate version of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, a piece of federal legislation designed to ban most forms of online gambling in the USA.

The bill, along with a companion bill launched last year by House of Assembly and Utah politician Representative Jason Chaffetz, failed to make it out of committee in the 2014 Congressional season.

Graham’s intention to re-launch coincides with Chaffetz’s re-introduction of his bill last week (see previous report), suggesting that the new RAWA initiative is a coordinated political move, probably urged on by the Republican Party’s biggest donor, Sheldon Adelson, who remains implacably opposed to online gambling.

Adelson’s financial clout is likely to be more extensive in coming months as presidential candidates vie for nomination and prepare for the presidential elections. There have already been media reports of politicians being “interviewed” by the ageing land casino mogul.

The major hurdle that RAWA will again face appears to be the issue of states’ rights; individual states and constitutional advocates alike are deeply concerned at the prospect of federal intervention in what should be decisions made by the states themselves, and Congressional representatives are likely to be wary of supporting measures that undermine that jealously regarded right.

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