Nevada Senator Harry Reid has been one of the biggest supporters of US online poker in recent years. However, it appears that with less than two years left in his final term, Reid is doing an about-face and now completely opposes online gaming. That said, let’s discuss the Senate Minority Leader’s recent comments on the matter and if his disapproval could seriously hurt online poker regulation efforts.
“Not Good for our Country”
Reid recently did an eventful “State of Nevada” interview with the radio station KNPR. During this program, the 75-year-old discussed his retirement from the Senate after 2016 and even received a call from President Barack Obama congratulating him on his service. Unfortunately, the direction of KNPR’s program switched to discussing Sheldon Adelson and his quest to ban online gaming on a federal level.
“Online gaming is not good for our country,” Reid said, while adding that “for the state of Nevada, online gaming is not the direction we should go.” More damning words out of his mouth included a comment that the Senate would “give it a good hard try” in regard to passing anti-online gaming legislation.
Total Change from his Previous Position
Few expected Harry Reid to suddenly stab poker enthusiasts in the back on his way out of Congress. After all, this is the same guy who, in 2012, introduced a federal bill to legalize online poker along with Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Predating this were efforts in both 2010 and ’12 on Reid’s behalf to further iGaming legislation for both Nevada and the US as a whole.
More recently, Reid discussed his friendly relationship with Adelson and how, if an iGaming ban did pass, he would try to get an iPoker carve-out included. This would have ensured that at least online poker was available in America, even if many other forms of online gaming weren’t. Considering all of this, it’s more than confusing that he would begin fully supporting Adelson.
What does this do for Online Poker’s Chances?
One can draw their own conclusions that Reid’s friendship with Adelson has evolved into being in the casino magnate’s back pocket. But while we can speculate on this all day, the biggest issue is what this could potentially do to efforts to legalize online gaming, even at the state level.
It appears that Reid is now on Adelson’s side, as the Las Vegas Sands owner looks to get his Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) legislation passed. And having the Senate Minority Leader aboard is definitely good for Adelson, should the bill make it through the House.
But on the other hand, RAWA is still not expected to make it through both the House and Senate and become law. Lotteries, various states, and states’ rights advocates are staunchly against passing a federal iGaming ban. So even if Reid wants to sway his support towards making US online poker illegal, at least the odds are still in American poker players’ favor.