Gaming executives who are buddies with Donald Trump just got a rude surprise when attorney general nominee Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) said he was “shocked” by the 2011 reinterpretation of the Wire Act, whereby Internet gaming became legal. This sets the stage for a re-reinterpretation to attempt to revert to the good old days of 2010 when Internet gambling was unsafe, frequent and illegal. “He says he opposed the original memo, and then he said he needed to study the issue thoroughly before making a decision. But that he already opposed something—he didn’t study it—makes me feel like his mind is already made up,” Michelle Minton of the Competitive Enterprise Institute told Yogonet.
While Sessions may have been speaking only for himself, his remarks would tend to confirm suspicions that President-elect Trump (now there’s a surreal phrase) cut a deal with Sheldon Adelson to go after Internet gambling if he won. Attorneys general of the three states affected had better start boning up on the subtleties because it looks like the freedom to wager on the Web will soon be under attack. The only consolation at this point is Sessions’ vow to uphold laws with which he personally disagrees but that’s a flimsy basis on which to hang our hopes.
* Speaking of ‘Net betting, it is credited with helping Atlantic City achieve its first year-over-year gaming revenue increase since 2006. Every surviving casino in the city was up, except for Harrah’s Resort and Caesars Atlantic City, which makes you wonder what they’re doing wrong there. (Too many bankruptcy-related cutbacks in service?) But the overall mood was one of jubilation, tempered by a few warnings that the Boardwalk needs to diversify its appeal. New Jersey Casino Control Commission Chairman Matt Levinson stated, “These are some strong numbers, especially with all the bad news about Atlantic City’s ‘demise.’There’s a lot of good news here. We have some stronger casinos now, and Internet gambling continues to increase. The hope is we’re entering a stable environment now.” Indeed.
Brace yourselves for controversy in Pennsylvania. Entrepreneur David LeVan wants to try, try again for a rasino near Gettysburg National Military Park. He’s got support from the harness-racing industry but is certain to run into a buzzsaw of history buffs, just as he did six years before, even if he gets the racing and gaming license he needs. LeVan says, at 2.3 miles away from the park, he’s a sufficient distance away and we agree. We were in Philadelphia recently and visited Valley Forge, and there’s no avoiding the site of the eponymous casino, especially from the park’s major promontory (George Washington had the sagacity to build his encampment on high ground, so at least you don’t have the casino-hotel looming over the now-historic ground.) Still, juxtaposing the words “Gettysburg” and “casino” hits a nerve with some people and we predict a pitched battle ahead for LeVan.
* Although Maryland casinos — through a crazy quilt of levies — pay the highest gaming taxes in the land, for some that’s not enough. An average rate of 40% is a free ride if you ask Montgomery County Council of PTAs Paul Gellar, who is pushing for a higher rate. State Senate Mike Miller was quick to stomp on Gellar. “We have the highest tax anywhere in the U.S. and we put more money into Gamblers Anonymous than any other state. These industries are paying a very, very high tax. It’s very competitive and we are very fortunate to have what we have,” Miller said in a live-radio beatdown of Gellar. Miller added that he gets pressure, too, from casinos — to lower their tax rates but the Free State is “fortunate to have what we have.”
