Sheldon Adelson and the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling (CSIG) aren’t the only ones working against online gaming. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is currently drafting legislation that would ban all forms of regulated internet gaming in the United States.
Graham has yet to release any language on his bill, however, his comments indicate that it will be very similar to Sheldon Adelson’s proposed revision to the Wire Act of 1961. Adelson and the CSIG wanted to “fix” vague language in the Wire Act that, according to the US Department of Justice’s interpretation, allow for legal online gaming. However, the CSIG failed to gain any support from state attorneys and their Wire Act revision efforts have seemingly died down.
Graham seeks to succeed where Adelson’s crew failed as he says it “is imperative we move forward” on revising the Wire Act. The 58-year-old Senator added, “A lot of damage can be done to the society in general. Again, the law enforcement community has been pretty universally against it in South Carolina and you can see a pretty wide coalition of cops and religious leaders coming together.”
Of course, Graham’s agenda goes much further than South Carolina because the Wire Act covers the entire United States. Currently, Delaware, New Jersey and Nevada all offer legal online gaming, while California and Illinois are seriously considering legalizing the activity. If Graham’s future bill is successful, it would put a halt to all of this. So the question now becomes, does he have a realistic shot at getting internet gaming banned across the US?
The likely answer is no because rumors are circulating that Graham is having trouble finding a Democrat to co-sponsor his bill. Even if he does find a co-sponsor, Graham is pretty new to the online gaming matter. The senator has rarely spoken on the issue in the past, and his mission to end internet gaming is a recent development.
Combining his newness to the issue with the fact that he’s busy with a re-election campaign, it’s highly unlikely that Graham can effectively push his anti-gaming agenda. Instead, it seems more like he’s attaching his name to a big issue in hopes of gaining enough support to hold off challengers in South Carolina’s June Republican primary.
According to the Washington Post, Graham only has 45% of the support from those who’ll be voting in the open GOP primary. If he doesn’t get the majority vote of the GOP primary, he would have to compete in a runoff election against his closest competitor, Lee Bright (9% support). While Graham would still be the favorite to win, it’d still be much better for him if he can avoid a runoff election.