New U.S. move by anti-online gambling politicians

Three US Senators associated with Sheldon Adelson’s bid to get online gambling federally banned in the United States have made the latest move in the campaign against internet gambling…a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder urging him to support the Graham-Chaffetz federal bills seeking a restoration of the Wire Act as a vehicle to ban most forms of internet gambling across the United States.

The Washington DC publication The Hill reports that Senators Lindsey Graham (South Carolina), Kelly Ayotte (New Hampshire) and Dianne Feinstein (California) wrote in their letter to Holder:

“We must act before we find virtual casinos making gambling pervasive in our society, invading living rooms, bedrooms, and dorm rooms across the country; a result we know the Department of Justice does not want to see.”

The three Senators note that in December 2011 the Department of Justice abandoned its policy of insisting that the Wire Act applied to all forms of internet gambling, opening the door to new opportunities for individual states to legalise the pastime, as has been done in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.

They claim that if that policy change is allowed to remain in force, it could “…usher in the most fundamental change in gambling in our lifetimes by turning every smart phone, tablet, and personal computer in our country into a casino available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

The letter asks Holder to support the Graham-Chaffetz bills in order to keep online gambling from opening “…the door to money laundering and other criminal activity” and creating serious problems for “children and society’s most vulnerable.”

The three senators express the hope that the Graham bill will receive the support of the US Senate in the current legislative season, and seek his backing – and that of the Department of Justice – to ensure the bill’s success.

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