US Senators against poker rights

Two US Senators have urged the Department of Justice to reverse a legal opinion that allows states to launch online betting industries.

US.- Pennsylvania passed back in October its gambling expansion bill and legalised online gambling (poker included). However, Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) have issued a letter to the Trump Administration, urging the Department of Justice to reverse its legal opinion regarding states developing online betting industries.

Pennsylvania’s decision turned the state into the fourth state to legalise online betting and is set to be followed by several other states in the US. Nonetheless, both Senators are against online poker and are known for pushing online gambling ban bills in the past with the help of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson’s lobbying.

In the letter, the lawmakers said: “Pennsylvania has recently enacted legislation authorizing internet gambling, and other states are lined up to follow suit (…) Online casinos are already operating across state lines pursuant to compacts, and states are contemplating opening up their online casinos to foreign markets. We fear that unless the DOJ promptly revisits its 2011 opinion, our prediction that online casinos could spread across the country could come to pass.”

Graham and Feinstein argued that online gambling is dangerous for “society’s most vulnerable” and assured that Congress should rule on internet casinos, despite its not up to them.