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One time US Presidential hopeful - or as GOP nominee Donald Trump might say “hopeless” – Lindsey Graham has decided to slip some anti-online gambling language into the latest House Appropriations bill.
The South Carolina Senator, who Trump as recently as last week called “nasty”, added the following to Appropriations Bill (S.2837) that must pass muster in the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Internet Gambling, since 1961, the Wire Act has prohibited nearly all forms of gambling over interstate wires, including the Internet. However, beginning in 2011, certain states began to permit Internet gambling. The Committee notes that the Wire Act did not change in 2011. The Committee also notes that the Supreme Court of the United States has stated that ‘criminal laws are for courts, not for the Government, to construe.
States such as New Jersey, Nevada and Delaware have already legalized the activity while others like California are close to doing so.
US Rep. John Culberson (R-TX), the committee’s chairman, will have the opportunity to remove said language, which has little if anything to do with the appropriations agenda.
While it’s true that Lindsey Graham proved to be about as popular a Presidential candidate as David Duke showing up at your kid’s bar mitzvah (he topped off at minus 1 percent in polling), the inspiration behind this language is none other than casino magnate and GOP mega donor Sheldon Adelson. Few in the Senate are beholden to Lindsey, but Sheldon Adelson, that’s a different story.
- Nagesh Rath, Gambling911.com
