22 Nov
Billionaire casino and resorts tycoon Sheldon Adelson has been continuously unrelenting and forthright in his desire to see a ban on online gaming in all of its forms, which includes online poker.
He has also been a major donor to the US Republican Party, with millions of his dollars going to many of the party’s causes in the last year alone.
It is something he has aimed to use to his advantage with regards to putting a US-wide online poker ban at the forefront of US political affairs.
While the US Congress and Senate have been busy dealing with other matters – such as continuing economic woes and an ISIS insurgency in Iraq – his ideas have continued to gain high coverage and traction in the country.
However, other high profile Republican politicians and supporters have unleashed a new wave of criticism towards Mr Adelson’s efforts to see a ban on online poker.
The Counterattack
Among the key criticisms has been that such a ban goes against the key conservative principle of freedom and that a ban would also be counterproductive to its intended aims.
Ron Paul has been the most vocal Republican to voice such views over the last week. Mr Paul was a former US Congressman who represented the state of Texas between 1976 and 1977 and again between 1979 and 2013.
The 79-year-old, who has gained a cult following among some Americans as a result of his staunch libertarian views, lashed out at Mr Adelson and his anti-online poker lobbying efforts.
Q:Criminalizing online casinos will not eliminate the demand for online casinos. Instead, passage of this legislation will likely guarantee that the online gambling market is controlled by criminals.
Mr Paul’s criticism prompted members of 11 influential conservative groups to issue a letter to Republican politicians to urge them to not support any proposed ban on online poker.
It may be the start of a greater ‘push from within’ against the anti-online poker efforts.
While Mr Adelson’s financial power has gained him tremendous clout within the Republican Party, Ron Paul’s popularity and high regard among sections of the conservative community and American population may very well rival that.
This is something that online poker supporters will at least be hoping for.
