Supporters of online poker and online gambling in general may have a new foe: Steve Wynn (pictured). Wynn, the Chairman, Founder, and CEO of Wynn Resorts, recently told Jon Ralston of Ralston Reportsthat he is convinced that the legalization and regulation of online gambling is a poor idea. This after Wynn received the green light for an internet gambling site in New Jersey on Monday. However, he is open to changing his mind.

According to Ralston, Wynn and Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson are both very afraid of the possibility of children and teenagers being able to log in and potentially drain their parents’ bank accounts. They shudder at the idea of gambling being available on devices that young people use every day.

Wynn said he has been shown the various technologies that can help prevent underage gambling and respects those who demonstrated it, but told Ralston, “I’m sure it was impressive if you were a cyber guy. But it was bullshit.”

Beyond the affects underage gambling could have on the families of those involved, Wynn is frightened of the effect an underage gambling scandal could have on the industry. He is not convinced minors can be kept off of the gaming sites and feels a scandal would inflate the power of “the anti-gaming forces.”

Wynn is also not convinced that the money would be worth it, even if gambling were legalized on a Federal level. Wary of the Government taxing the industry to death, Wynn remarked, “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.”

Wynn went on to admit that online gambling simply does not play to his strengths. His company is a casino property developer. “I know how to do that,” he told Ralston. “But I don’t know how to do that on a 17-inch screen.” Wynn also said that online gambling could harm the Las Vegas economy.

One of the interesting things about Wynn’s reversal is that he had begun positioning his company to take advantage of online gambling legalization last year. In September, his company made two moves. One was to sign an agreement with 888 Holdings in which 888 would develop Wynn’s online poker site, which would then become part of 888’s All American Poker Network.

The second was a deal made with Caesars in New Jersey, where Caesars would house Wynn’s online gaming serversin one of its four Atlantic City casinos once Wynn was ready to launch a site in the state. Wynn partnered with PokerStars in advance of legal online gaming in the US in 2011, although that relationship eventually fell through.

Even as recently as November, Wynn was quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal as saying, “Playing poker is America, and outlawing poker is like the Volstead Act where they outlawed beer.” At the same time, he didn’t come straight out and say he was in favor of legalization, preferring to keep a neutral stance. “I’m neither a proponent nor opponent of it. I’m an observer of this process and the chairman of a publicly traded company that is required to pay attention to such things.”

Although he is now on the side of Adelson (pictured), Wynn told Ralston that he does have an open mind and could change his stance should someone make a convincing argument. For now, though, online poker has two gaming industry titans to fight instead of just one.

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