There is an op-ed piece published in the BusinessReport.com which looks at Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s campaign against online gaming, in which he declares the online gaming industry as predatory. He will do everything in his power to prevent Louisiana from joining Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware – three states to have thus far legalized online poker and casino gaming.
According to a survey by GamblingCompliance.com, it revealed that Louisiana was named as one of 10 states in the country that were said to be considering the legalization of online gambling in 2014. For Louisiana to make this list clearly annoyed Governor Bobby Jindal, as he made it known that one of his campaign promises was to fight online gambling expansion put forth by state lawmakers that will inevitably occur later this year.
Of course, Jindal is not the only one pushing an anti-online gaming stance, it all started with Sheldon Adelson, who is the chairman of the Las Vegas Sands casino. He has initiated a Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling and is determined to spend whatever it takes to make sure that US citizens are protected from the dangers of internet gambling. It is almost comical how the CEO of a major casino can talk about the negative impact of online gambling.
In a statement, he mentions his concerns about underage gambling on the internet as well as the potential problems of money laundering. He also claims that the vast majority of Americans are actually opposed to online gaming, although it is important to note that he doesn’t provide actual evidence to support any of these claims.
Louisiana already supports various forms of predatory gambling for its residents. There is a Louisiana lottery which offers a prize payback percentage of around 50%. Video poker machines are also available in bars, gas stations, and restaurants around Louisiana, although these games offer some of the worst payout odds as mandated by the regulations imposed by Louisiana State law. Nothing to date has been done by Jindal to fix this, which is hardly fair for players as it is a disadvantage to those who play these games instead of playing video poker online.
If Governor Bobby Jindal is so concerned about the impact that online gambling will have on residents – then why are these machines being allowed to operate in his state? The Louisiana Governor should really look at correcting the current situation before having the audacity to comment on the ill effects of internet gambling.
And he also went on to say in this statement:
“If enough states make the poor decision to allow Internet gambling, it will be nearly impossible to stop in states that do not allow it.”
It is fairly hard to grasp exactly what point he was trying to make when making this comment. It appears as though Jindal thinks that if online gambling is legalized and regulated in other states, then there is the possibility that it will be somehow be forced on players residing in Louisiana, when there is no evidence to support this view, especially considering Louisiana’s laws are such that online gambling is prohibited and may result in criminal action.
The Louisiana Governor also wants to overturn the DoJ’s reinterpretation of the Wire Act, which opened the door for states to offer internet gambling and paved the way for legalized online poker. Adelson shares the same viewpoint and has gone as far as to propose the Internet Gambling Control Act, which aims to strengthen the 1961 Wire Act, and if passed at the federal level, would prevent individual states from offering online gambling.