Anti-Online Gambling Hearing Set for December 9

Online poker and gambling advocates will face another challenge next month when the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee holds a hearing on the Restoration of America's Wire Act (RAWA) on December 9.

RAWA is the anti-igaming legislation spearheaded by Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino owner who holds a vendetta against regulated online gambling in the United States. The bill is being pushed by Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, the oversight committee chairman.

RAWA would outlaw Internet poker and gambling in the U.S., including the three states that have already regulated it. The proposal takes aim at the ruling made by the DoJ in 2011 that clarified the antiquated 1961 Wire Act and permitted individual states to host igaming at their own discretion.

The last time that lawmakers discussed RAWA at a hearing was in March. In late 2014, many expected RAWA to be given a look-see at a lame duck session following the November elections, but the proposal received no formal attention.

Perhaps a more serious immediate threat than RAWA for online poker proponents would be a possible two-year moratorium on Internet gambling, an idea that has been bandied about by legislators in the past. That would keep other states from joining Nevada, Delaware and New Jersey until 2017 or later.

Ironically, its been two years since any states launched igaming regimes. There are currently no states on the cusp of doing so in the immediate future, with Pennsylvania perhaps the furthest along in the process.