Ron Paul exposes threat to iGaming in the US

Former US Representative and two time presidential candidate, Ron Paul has penned an opinion piece in which he looks to defend individual state rights to dictate their own gambling laws. The article also highlights the potential threat to the iGaming industry posed by potential Federal anti-gambling laws.

The OP, which is inadvertently pro gambling as a result of Paul’s libertarian and pro federalist views, looks to draw people’s attention to the possibility of federal anti-gambling laws infringing on individuals state’s who have already legalised the industry.

Paul writes: “Some proponents of a federal ban on online gambling claim the Federal Government must act because legal online casinos make it easy for citizens in states to restrictive gambling laws to violate those laws.

"This argument ignores the existence of technology capable of ensuring that only those legally allowed to do so can gamble online. Supporters of the Dent amendment should ask themselves who is likely to use this technology - an online casino controlled by criminals or an online casino operating in accordance with state law?.”

The piece takes aim at Charlie Dent and other law makers, who in Paul’s eyes seek to maintain their own ‘special interests’ whilst increasing government spending and control. Paul argues that lawmakers will be tackling a "non problem" if they attempt to pass anti gambling federal law.

Dent is the representative of the district in Pennsylvania which is home to Sheldon Adelson’s Sands Casino. Adelson, who is well known for owning the Las Vegas Sands Corporation is also a staunch advocate of online gaming. As a result of fears to his own business ventures, he has been attempting to bring the matter of iGaming to a Federal level. By investing in republican candidates such as Dent Adelson, he has been able to push the agenda forward.

Paul added: “It is odd for Dent to usurp state authority in this way, especially since a poll by the Bravo Group, a Harrisburg public affairs firm, shows that more than two-thirds of Keystone State residents support legalizing online gaming”.