In a surprising display of petulance, Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R) hung up the phone on members of the National Governors Association when they had the temerity to object to his 
Restoration of America’s Wire Act bill, which would criminalize state lotteries and other forms of gaming currently conducted online. (“Lottery machines often communicate over the Internet, crossing state lines to reach a data center to record that a bet has been made, and this legislation could ban that action,” explains The Hill.) In essence, Chaffetz told the emissaries that if they didn’t didn’t like it, tough luck: Come to Capitol Hill and file your own bill.
“It seemed very odd that you would expect a state to file federal legislation to enable it to be able to conduct gaming in its borders. I found that statement to be surprisingly aggressive,” said Mark Hichar, a Boston attorney and earwitness to Chaffetz’s tantrum. (Perhaps the latter is still sore about his dog-and-pony show on Internet gambling being canceled due to bad weather.)
Earlier, Adelson flunky Andy Abboud, who’s the #1 casino pusher in Florida, prated that there was “no appetite” for online gambling. (If so, why not let market forces have their way?) “Gaming needs to be done in a limited way,” continued the Las Vegas Sands mouthpiece. “It needs to be like alcohol. It needs to be like tobacco. It cannot be accessible to everyone.” (Hypocritical much, Mr. Abboud?)
The Chaffetz bill, written by lawyer Darryl Nirenberg at Adelson’s behest, is also rife with loopholes, particularly one for online fantasy-sports wagering. “Finally, since the Wire Act can only apply to interstate transmissions, any closed-circuit online gambling offerings – such as the mobile casino and sports betting products offered to guests at Adelson’s Venetian in Las Vegas – would not be impacted by” Nirenberg’s, er, Chaffetz’s bill, writes Chris Grove of Bluff.com, who also notes that the bill is an unfunded mandate. How do its backers intend to enforce it?
Once again, we can only conclude that Adelson is stuck somewhere 60 years ago, lashing out at a technology he doesn’t understand and which consequently frightens him. As for Chaffetz, he ought to have a greater respect for the Tenth Amendment than to be meddling in intrastate affairs.
* Scientific Games had an “Oops!” moment after it appointed William C. Thompson Jr. to its board of directors, effective March 5. You see, Mr. Thompson also sits upon the newly controversial New York State Gaming Facility Location Board. How could Scientific — or Thompson — not see the potential conflict of interest here, regulating in one state and overseeing corporate business in another? Not to worry: Thompson has stepped down and life is back to normal.
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