Efforts by Adelson to Ban Online Poker Fail Initial Test

It appears that gaming and resorts tycoon Sheldon Adelson’s efforts to ban online poker in the US have been stomped, for now anyway.

Mr Adelson had been hoping that an Act with his input that would see a nationwide ban on online poker – known as the Restoration of America’s Wire Act – would be attached to a large temporary spending bill, known as the Cromnibus.

That did not happen, however, as the Cromnibus was released yesterday with no mention of the Act or any other effort to ban online poker in the US.

The failure of the Act to be attached to the Cromnibus gives proponents of online poker in the US a small victory as it makes it unlikely that there will be any serious political moves with regard to online poker in the short-term future.

However, the key word in the above paragraph is ‘small’.

US online poker players and their supporters can breathe a sigh of relief for now, but it is highly unlikely that Mr Adelson will give up his efforts to ban online poker anytime soon.

The Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, who according to Forbes is worth US$29.2 billion, has been relentless in his efforts to see a ban on online poker in the US over the last year and a half.

His large donations to the Republican Party and Republican Party candidates have given him a high degree of influence within the party. It is likely that he will retain that influence all the way through to the 2016 elections, which could easily result in further efforts by Mr Adelson to implement the nationwide ban on online poker.

The next year will likely see Mr Adelson spend more of his vast fortune on PR efforts to attract further support for his desired initiatives.

With all of that said, US online poker players can have a small celebration over the bill not being included as part of the Cromnibus. However, they must do so while realizing that they are nowhere near close to being out of the woods just yet.