Uncertain Fate for RAWA Online Gambling Bill
April 1, 2015
A House Subcommittee recently heard testimony on H.R. 707, the
Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). The bill would change
the current Wire Act and make it so that any bet placed over the
Internet would be illegal with a few exceptions. The fate of RAWA
looks very murky going forward.
The hearing on RAWA had people from both sides of the online gambling
issue testifying but very little new information was presented.
The big issues that came to light during the hearing were the individual
states’ right to control gambling policy within their borders
and online protection mechanisms related to children and money laundering.
Another issue was whether or not lotteries should be exempt as some
people believe that lotteries should exempt from the bill while
sports betting and poker are not.
Many states in the U.S. now have lotteries and three have online
gambling.
The chances of RAWA actually passing the House and Senate seem
remote even though Sheldon Adelson has been throwing money at people
for years trying to get the bill through congress. Adelson is chairman
and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp and has spent millions of dollars
to fund conservative groups and back Republican candidates. Most
people believe that the hearing was simply a way to pacify Adelson.
The reason the bill is unlikely to pass is that many states want
online gambling and don’t want federal intervention. "States
should be allowed to decide this question for themselves, and we
should not take any action that would overturn such state laws,"
said Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the Judiciary
Committee.
If RAWA is to go forward it would have to be voted out of committee
to the full House.
