This is not going where you think it is.
Over the past couple of weeks we in the iGaming/iPoker
advocacy arena have been transfixed with a lot of activity that has promise or
potential. Bills and hearings in Michigan,
Pennsylvania, New York, and (yet again) California are moving forward, but very
few hold out hope that we’ll see more than the same three states with iGaming
(NJ, NV, and DE) by the end of the year.
Not so much because the cause is not just of the fight engaged, but
because it’s an election year. That’s a
tough row to hoe.
There’s also new activity on the anti-iGaming front, as
Sheldon Adelson’s deadly minion Lindsey “Back-Door” Graham has inserted some trickery
into a must-pass Senate Appropriations Bill.
Shades of 2006’s UIGEA (no hearings, no votes, just insert here when no
one is looking), this move appears to have about as much chance of occurring as
California’s iPoker bill, which is to say not likely (thanks to increased diligence
on the part of PPA and poker players everywhere – thank you).
And in DFS-land, Congress held a ho-hum hearing
that moved the issue neither here nor there.
This is one online activity the AGA takes an interest
in (only to ensure that broader sports-betting issues are included), and, of
course, states are taking issue/license (no pun) with DFS as well. Some are banning it, some are licensing it,
and many are in discussion as what to do about it (more states involved with
DFS than with traditional iGaming, sadly).
But there was one other bit of new legislation proposed
recently that caught my eye favorably, received little attention, and yet…the
more I think about it, the more troubling the whole thing became. In Nevada, the Nevada Gaming Commission might
consider changes to their mobile sports betting regulations that would have a
PROFOUND (emphasis mine) effect on all of the above – iPoker, iGaming, DFS, and
RAWA.
The article in question (here)
caught my eye because of the phrase “Bettors in the 49 states outside of Nevada might be able to set up and fund mobile sports betting apps
from Las Vegas casinos
as early as this year (emphasis from the story).
ALL
states? Even my state (Oregon)? Even Congressman Jason Chaffetz’s state
(Utah)?
Yup. Sports betting is growing by leaps and bounds
in Nevada, and mobile sports betting is a big reason for it. As I mentioned above, the AGA has shown a
desire to push the envelope to start a dialogue to get people talking to
“…review the effectiveness of America’s 25-year-old
federal sports betting ban in light of growing public acceptance of gaming in
general, the soaring interest in sports betting in particular and the
development of new technologies that can aid law enforcement in overseeing
betting activities.”
They were referring specifically to PASPA (Professional
and Amateur Sports Protection Act), not the wire act. The new Nevada regs would still require (for
now) the individual to actually travel (once) to Nevada to set up the account,
and all wagering must still be done (for now) in Nevada. But here’s where it gets interesting…
The new regs are being championed by CGTechnology. If that name doesn’t ring a bell, I’ll remind
you that they are a leading gaming technology company, specializing in sports
book mobile sports-betting apps featured at several Nevada casinos.
Including The Venetian and The Palazzo. Owned by you-know-who.
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| What if Little Johnny gets ahold of Dad's tablet? Oh, right... |
Remember, the Wire Act was written way back in the 60’s to deal
with sports betting.
Remember, Sheldon Adelson wants to “restore” the wire act so
that ALL Internet gaming is prohibited – even that which is regulated by the
states.
Remember, even if RAWA became a reality, it would still
ALLOW some Internet wagering – horse racing (which last time I looked was still
a sport), perhaps DFS, perhaps some lotteries…and maybe mobile sports betting?
Does Sheldon know that the technology for a “phone app for
sports betting” and a “phone app for iPoker” use the SAME technology?
Are the new Nevada sports betting regs a “foot in the door”
to expand further should Congress get a clue and decide to modify draconian
gambling laws like PASPA and UIGEA?
Is this a case of Sheldon trying to have his cake and eat
it, too? To say “If I can’t ban it all I
want to get in on it but on my terms because sports betting will be bigger than
poker by 10-20 times” (and he’s probably right about that)?
I have to admit the desire to wager on sports from time to
time. There are days when I know the
Lions can cover the spread and something I read in one of Nolan Dalla or Earl
Burton’s columns makes me want to grab a sawbuck and go for it. But I can’t, because I don’t live anywhere
near Nevada. An online/mobile sports
betting app would be WONDERFUL, though I rather shit my pants in public or
slide down a 45-foot razor blade than have an account with The Venetian. But still…
So I am crazy to see this as something sinister and
sneaky? Or have I just been watching too
much political news reporting?
What’s your thought on all of this?
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| Hey, it could be worse. |
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