Mini-RAWA Bill Introduced in U.S. House

It is almost Christmas, so what better time for poker’s Uncle Scrooge to rear his ugly head? Recently, a bill was introduced into the United States House of Representatives that has a bit more than a passing resemblance to Sheldon Adelson’s Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). House Resolution (HR) 6453, introduced by Rep. Michael Fitzpatrick (R – PA), seeks to negate any sort of legal effect the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) had when it clarified the Wire Act at the end of 2011.

That clarification debunked the Justice Department’s long held incorrect interpretation of the Wire Act. For years, the DoJ had approached law as if all online gambling was illegal in the United States, the primary reason why the online poker industry had such a rocky road in this country, culminating with Black Friday on April 15^th, 2011. The Wire Act, though, only says that sports betting on the internet is illegal (technically, it only says “wire communication” and not “internet,” but that was because it was written 55 years ago). Responding to a question from Illinois and New York about the legality of internet lottery sales, the OLC clarified that the yes, the Wire Act only applied to sports betting. Thus, states were free to sell lottery tickets online and, in the case of Nevada, Delaware, and New Jersey, legalize and regulate online poker (all states can do this, but those three are the only ones who have).

Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson didn’t like this, as he thinks internet gambling is a threat to his casino empire, so he used his great wealth and political influence – he is one of a handful of Republican king makers – to draw up RAWA, a bill which would not only roll back the OLC’s Wire Act clarification, but actually make the old, incorrect interpretation the word of law. He got it introduced in both the Senate and the House by willing lackeys Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R – UT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R – SC), but despite a couple joke hearings in the House, it hasn’t gone anywhere.

But now there is Rep. Fitzpatrick’s bill. There is no word yet as to whether or not Adelson is involved, but it would not be surprising, especially now that Donald Trump and his extremely anti-gambling VP, Mike Pence, are ready to take their seats at the head of the U.S. government.

It is not exactly RAWA, in that its wording does not appear to make online gambling outright illegal, but it still smells of Adelson’s bill. It is very short, as you will see below, simply saying that the OLC’s opinion “shall have no force and effect for purposes of interpreting” the Wire Act.

Basically, it’s the anti-online gambling folks whining that they had their way for years, even though they shouldn’t have, and now that they don’t, they want a do-over.

Below is the entire bill:

———————————————

To clarify the effect of a Memorandum Opinion for the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, dated September 20, 2011, and pertaining to the lawfulness of proposals by Illinois and New York to use the Internet and out-of-state transaction processors to sell lottery tickets to in-state adults, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. MEMORANDUM NOT TO HAVE FORCE AND EFFECT OF LAW.

The Memorandum Opinion for the Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, dated September 20, 2011, and pertaining to the lawfulness of proposals by Illinois and New York to use the Internet and out-of-state transaction processors to sell lottery tickets to in-state adults (including the applicability of the Wire Act (18 U.S.C. 1084) and the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (31 U.S.C. 5361–5367) to such proposal), does not carry the force of law and shall have no force and effect for purposes of interpreting or applying section 5362(a)(10) of title 31, United States Code.