Gov. Perry Acts to End Internet Gambling

Rick Perry, the Governor of Texas, has recently pushed to end iGaming in the US states which clearly surprised Jack Abramoff, one of the US most notorious former lobbyist.

Apparently Perry sent a letter to the congressmen and the House and Senate Judiciary Committees asking them to consider reviewing the Department of Justice interpretation of the Wire Act of 2011 that led to the idea of legalizing online gambling in some US states.

This raised the eyebrows of Abramoff, who in an interview with WND, said that it is quite interesting that Perry came out in favor of that. Abramoff, also known as Casino Jack, wrote the New York Times bestseller “Capitol Punishment: The Hard Truth about Washington Corruption from America’s Most Notorious Lobbyist.”

Gambling is a Political Creation

Abramoff has become one of the most powerful lobbyist on Capitol Hill in the past 10 years. In his words, “gambling is purely political creation.” He told WND that all these politics are shaped in the good of the public, but they are also related to political and market share.

Abramoff also considered the connection between the push of Perry to end online gambling and the interests of Sheldon Adelson, the powerful CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corporation. Last month it was reported that Adelson had illegally donated about $1 million to the reelection campaign of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. Adelson is also the biggest donor to Perry’s reelection race for governor.

“Adelson is the leading force against iGaming,” said Abramoff. “He has hired three more lobbyists to fight with him. The biggest reason for his move is that Adelson believes that it would destroy his brick and mortar gambling properties worth $2 billion. He doesn’t want to see his business going up in smoke just because somebody decides to open an online gambling for just $15.”

In 2006, Abramoff was pleaded guilty because of his lobbying work. After serving 43 months in federal prison, Abramoff is out and he is determined to do whatever it takes to identify and help end the corruption of the system he used to play in well.

Is There a Connection Between Perry and Adelson?

The people behind Perry deny any connection between him and Adelson and the letter of the governor. Lucy Nashed, a spokeswoman for Perry, told AP that the governor hasn’t discussed online gambling with Adelson. In fact, Perry has been opposing iGaming in the US state of Texas for a long time.

In his letter to the congressmen, Perry said that restoring the interpretation of the Wire Act and ruling online gambling as illegal would bolster state rights. “When people gamble over the Internet, the ability of a state to decide whether or not it should be available to its residents and under what conditions…is subject to the the vagaries of the technological marketplace,” says Perry.

Perry also urges the Congress to closely look into the long and short term economic and social consequences before iGaming spreads nationwide.