The US Senate introduced a new bill (S.3376) which shows similarities to the RAWA (Restoration of America’s Wire Act).
The ultimate aim is to ban online poker at a federal level with this piece of legislation. Longtime RAWA supporters, Lindsey Graham (R-S. Carolina) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are co-sponsors of the new bill.
Since the language of the bill has not yet been published yet, we don’t know exactly what S.3376 is yet. In 2011 a DOJ judgment basically reinterpreted the Federal Wire Act in order to permit casino games and online poker in the US. The bills shows a RAWA- like distaste for the DOJ judgment.
The Congressional website shows a short description of the S.3376:
“a bill to ensure the integrity of laws enacted to prevent the use of financial instruments for funding or operating online casinos are not undermined by legal opinions not carrying the force of law issued by Federal Government lawyers.”
Be Alert
On a state-by-state basis, the regulation of online poker and casino gaming was paved way by the 2011 judgment. Much to the irritation of Sheldon Adelson and his followers in Washington, it has in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware.
Including the states that had already been regulated, the RAWA sought an outright ban for online gambling in the US. Millions that have already been invested in the state’s online gaming sectors would have been dismantled at once. With a several states that have already legalized online lotteries, these would also been damaged by the new legislation.
After it failed to gather significant support because of its disregards for states’ rights, the RAWA was defeated in the legislature at the end of last year.
In the hope that no one would notice, a very similar bill was sneaked into the Senate by Senator Graham in May. Representative Charlie Dent attempted to do the same in the House. The incident highlights the need to stay alert as the amendments were indeed noticed.
Exact Language of Bill to be Announced
“The Congressional website states: “Bills are generally sent to the Library of Congress from GPO, the Government Publishing Office, a day or two after they are introduced on the floor of the House or Senate. Delays can occur when there are a large number of bills to prepare or when a very large bill has to be printed.”
We can safely assume that this is RAWA 2.0 until we know the exact language of the bill which should be announced within a few days.
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