Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada, has turned to the federal government and urged it to preserve the current status quo governing online gambling. In a letter penned to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Rep. Titus asked that no changes be made to a decision published by the Department of Justice in 2011, which opened the doors to legal internet gambling in individual states.
“In Las Vegas, we have seen that a regulated market is always better than an illegal one,” Titus wrote. “Internet gambling will not go away with a reversal of Wire Act guidance; it will merely push more consumers into black markets.”
Titus’ call comes at an important time in the US’ gambling industry. The Supreme Court is poised to make an historic ruling on the sports betting prohibition which covers all but four states, Nevada included.
The current President has not yet made its position regarding internet gambling formally known. President Trump has mentioned the issue in the past, saying that he has friends on both sides of the camp and can understand everyone’s perspective.
Titus’ letter comes on the heels of a letter written by Sens Lindsey Graham (R-South Caroline) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, two lawmakers with traditionally anti-online gambling sentiments, who asked that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein give a federal interpretation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and the Wire Act.
The anti-igaming senators said in their letter that “Internet gambling takes gambling too far.”
“It preys on children and society’s most vulnerable,” they claim. “The FBI has concluded that ‘online casinos are vulnerable to a wide array of criminal schemes’ including money laundering and ventures by transnational organized crime groups.”
However, in her counter-letter, Rep. Titus writes that Graham and Feinstein “use fear tactics and hyperbolic language to emphasize their distaste for online gaming.”
Following the publication of the contents of Titus’ letter by Associated Press, the Justice Department declined to comment.
