RAWA is still alive in the US

Sheldon Aldelson’s attempt to ban online poker and gaming has been recently criticised by a former US Rep.

US.- Former US Rep Lynn Westmoreland, R-Georgia, released an article where he claims that a ban on online poker could be everything but beneficial, it would bring consequences to the structure of the government.

“RAWA seeks to change that historic structure of the states governing themselves by having the federal government dictate gambling laws for everyone. That shift furthers the idea of a strong central government requiring uniformity in all states instead of recognizing the uniqueness of each individual state’s laws,” he said on The Hill, and commented that RAWA has other negative implications as well: as online gaming directs some of the revenue to local funds such as the HOPE scholarship program, by imposing a federal prohibition they would only take away the money from education.

Adelson, the casino mogul and Republican Party benefactor, supported RAWA, under the reasoning that the aim of the bill was to ban all kinds of online gambling activities in the country at federal levels to protect kids from gambling. Other sources said that he was only trying to eliminate other forms of gambling so they wouldn’t affect the land-based sector. “States have historically dealt with gambling laws without federal interference and should continue to do so,” concluded Westmoreland.