In rather puzzling news coming out of Capitol Hill in the United States, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Nevada Senators Dean Heller (pictured) and Harry Reid are developing a bill that would restore the Wire Act of 1961 to outlaw all forms of online gambling except poker. This after both New Jersey and Delaware, two of the three states in the country that allow internet gambling, permit non-poker games online.

The bill will likely be dropped in March. Rich TheEngineerMuny, Vice President of Player Relations for the Poker Players Alliance, posted on Facebook, “It’s an odd bill. Sheldon Adelson is gunning specifically for poker, so he doesn’t want it (unless he’s hoping to divide and conquer). And, unless they sweeten the deal, players don’t really get anything out of it either. States can already authorize online poker, as we’ve seen in three states.”

Speaking on Adelson’s concerns, Heller told the Nevada newspaper, “I think Adelson brings up some reasonable concerns. And to have the Wild, Wild West as an empire of gambling for the country would have some serious social implications. And I think that’s what he’s concerned with.” Adelson, who oversees the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has pledged to spend “whatever it takes” to outlaw all online gambling, including poker, in the United States. His properties include the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas and Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania.

According to the Review-Journal, 16 states are examining legalizing internet gambling and the health of Nevada’s land-based casinos seems to be at the heart of Reid and Heller’s activity. The news outlet pointed out, for example, that there “would be no incentive for Southern and Northern Californians to visit Las Vegas or Reno if they can gamble at home.”

Heller told the Review-Journal that despite the legislation’s seemingly Nevada-centric language, “We’re trying to keep it from being just a Nevada issue. Harry (pictured) and I are trying to look for help from members in each of our conferences to come forward with legislation that, hopefully, long-term provides a solution for us… Right now, there’s a majority probably around here that want nothing done. You know, they want it Wild, Wild West when it comes to internet gambling. And I don’t think that’s good.”

Reacting to the news, PPA Executive Director John Pappas told PocketFives, “We are going to insist that if Congress does act in this regard, it should be to affirmatively license and regulate interstate online poker.”

Adelson’s campaign against online poker has apparently drawn in fellow casino mogul Steve Wynn, who has voiced concern over the effectiveness of age verification software, calling it “bullshit” in a recent Ralston Report interview. Wynn was also leery of the US Government demanding a significant portion of online gambling revenues, saying, “This is not a good entrepreneurial opportunity. Where is the business opportunity? The big problem I see is I don’t see the Government letting us keep the money.”

Adelson has formed the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, which recently received support from 39 organizations from across the US. We’ll keep you posted on the latest poker legislation news right here on PocketFives.

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