RAWA Hearing March 26th
The oft-delayed hearing of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act has a new hearing date, and it’s soon. RAWA, which was previously scheduled to be heard on March 5th, will be appearing before a congressional subcommittee on March 26th.
As you know, the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, or RAWA, aims to make online gambling illegal. It’s backed by some powerful supporters, including Sheldon Adelson, CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. He’s bankrolling his quest to end online gambling out of his own personal checkbook, and he’s spent a hefty amount of money to try to put an end to online gambling. While his initial amount spent to stop online gambling was in the five or six figure range, he’s since spent a substantially larger amount. Over the past year or two, his net worth has dropped from nearly $40 billion down to $27.5 billion, and it continues to dwindle.
One of the more surprising (or unsurprising, if you’ve been keeping up with the news we post) revelations to come out of this whole ordeal comes from South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.
Amid the controversy surrounding the Hillary Clinton controversy (whether she used a personal e-mail account to discuss government business), Senator Graham let loose a line that confirmed something that we’ve speculated since the very beginning: they have no idea what they’re sponsoring.
Senator Graham, when commenting about the Hillary Clinton situation, said “I don’t email. You can have every email I’ve ever sent. I’ve never sent one.”
When we first started talking about Sheldon Adelson’s conquest to end online gambling, we had commented about how Sheldon Adelson fears technology and goes out of his way to avoid it. That seems to be true with Senator Lindsey Graham as well. The men in charge of a bill that could outlaw what could potentially be one of the largest sources of funding for this nation have never even used the medium on which the source of funding would come from.
Stop and let that sink in for a second.
The whole quest to ban online gambling comes down to one man and his personal belief that the technology in the sky will ruin him. He won’t stop and think of how much extra revenue online gambling could bring in, how he could possibly partner or expand his empire by partnering with sites that offer no deposit bonuses, or anything of the sort. He’s scared that someone’s going to take away his source of funding – that is, if he doesn’t do it to himself first.
Meanwhile, even though the opposition to RAWA continues to grow, the hearing will be slightly one-sided. Of the four “experts” that are scheduled to lend their expertise on the issue, three are anti-online gambling.
Money certainly talks, but will Congress listen? Will they be swayed by corrupt politicians or will they realize how much money online gambling could bring in and how it’ll help each state? We’ll find out on March 26th.
It’s maddening that people wanting to regulate online gambling don’t even know how tech works! So disappointing our laws are crafted by cluelessness.
The strategic moves described are fascinating! It’s intriguing to see how money influences legislative decisions. Can’t wait to see what happens! 😊
The upcoming hearing adds layers of intrigue and intensity! 🤔 It’s surprising how policy and power dynamics unfold in Congress.