Sheldon Adelson's Bills Create Dilemma for GOP

Sheldon Adelson has spent millions of dollars lobbying to ban online gambling. He has encouraged two Republican lawmakers to create bills that would reinstate the Wire Act provisions to block all forms of online gambling. Rep. Jason Chaffetz and Sen. Lindsey O. Graham will both file their bills by the end of the week.

The new bills have created a quandary for Republicans in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The Republican Party believes in a limited government and promoting state rights. However, they are under pressure to compromise their principles for one of their largest donors. Adelson has given tens of millions of dollars to GOP politicians. He reportedly spent over $150 million in the last presidential election.

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been one of the strongest advocates of state rights. He has also been vehemently opposed to corporate influence in the legislative process. However, he has chosen to prioritize his loyalty for Adelson over the ideals he has long believed in. Perry wrote a letter on Monday asking Congress to pass a law that would block Texas and the rest of the country from legalizing online gambling.

Neither Chaffetz nor Graham appears to have garnered enough support for their bills to pass. Chaffetz is struggling to convince leading libertarian politicians to support his new bill. However, the probability may be higher if Adelson pledges money to more Republican politicians. This is an election year, which means that lawmakers may have to choose between either alienating their constituents or one of their largest donors.

A federal ban on online gambling would be very difficult to overturn and would indefinitely delay efforts to legalize online gambling. The online gambling community continues to lobby against the bills that the Coalition to Stop Online Gambling has endorsed.