Casino magnate Sheldon Adelson passed away at the age of 87. It was first revealed in February 2019 that he was undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. He passed away on 11 Jan 2021 and was laid to rest in Jerusalem, Israel.
Adelson was known for his philanthropic work over several decades along with being a huge political donor to the Republican Party and a big supporter of Israel. However, he was the most hated man in the world of online gambling.
The founder of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation had become online gambling’s worst enemy over the last 10 years. He used his power, influence, and machinery to block any attempts to allow online gambling, including online poker in the country. He poured millions of dollars into the campaigns of politicians who would lobby for him inside the government.
Adelson was the main driving force behind relentless efforts to prohibit online gambling in the US, but with his passing, has his long crusade against online gambling also come to an end?
Why Adelson Hated Online Gambling
Since launching his war against online gambling including online poker as far back as 2011, Adelson had insisted his goal was to protect the world’s most vulnerable people, the children and the poor, from being exploited as a result of legalizing the practice. He said his stance against online gambling was purely based on his conscience and moral principles.
Online gambling supporters think otherwise, as they believe Adelson was only after the interest of his business empire, which depends heavily on brick-and-mortar casinos. Obviously, the legalization of online gambling and online poker would mean massive losses in revenue for land-based gambling establishments.
Where It All Began
Adelson’s war against online gambling began in 2011 when the US Department of Justice, under the Obama administration, released a formal legal opinion of the Wire Act, concluding it only applied to sports betting, and that other forms of online gambling not related to sports bets were outside its scope.
The opinion was considered a huge milestone, especially in online poker, as during the same year, several online poker sites had been forced to terminate their operations as a result of Black Friday.
The 2011 Wire Act opinion opened the gates for regulated online poker in a handful of states, the first of them were New Jersey, Nevada, and Delaware. Pennsylvania and Michigan have recently been added to the list.
Since then, Adelson had done everything possible to prevent the legalization of online gambling and online poker across the country. He formed the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG), which has been working hard to counter efforts to allow online poker in the US for the past several years.
Adelson was well-known for being a major donor to Republican Party, even spending $93 million on Mitt Romney’s campaign alone in 2012. He used his political influence to push for the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), which sought to amend the Wire Act to cover all forms of online gaming, including online poker. But the bill failed to gain enough support, and was stomped twice in 2014 and 2015.
Adelson did not stop there. He again made a massive contribution of $82.5 million to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Trump won, giving Adelson his first major break in trying to push his anti-online gambling agenda.
What’s Next?
In January 2019, the DOJ issued a revised opinion of the Wire Act, overturning the 2011 interpretation. It stated that the law isn’t just limited to sports betting, but also covers any other forms of online gambling, including online poker. Adelson was believed to have a major influence in the decision.
The Wire Act issue has been taken to the courts by the New Hampshire lottery. The legal battle is continuing, with the whole online gaming industry awaiting the final ruling.
But with Adelson now gone, will it be easier for online gambling legalization to push forward. The US also has a newly elected Democratic President Joe Biden, who earlier made a pronouncement that he would overturn the latest Wire Act opinion.