|
 Online
Gambling Community
for John McCain
Despite claims
lodged that a John
McCain US Presidency
would result in the
same 'ol, same 'ol
for the online
gambling industry
carried over from
the George Bush
administration, some
of the industry's
most influential
figureheads will be
voting for the
Republican come
November, an
investigation by
Gambling911.com has
uncovered.
Evidence of this can
be found at the
Huffington Post
for those really
interested in
digging a little
deeper.
Some
industry honchos
have donated five
figures to the
McCain coffers.
Three names on the
list may look
familiar.
"McCain could very
well be a Democrat,"
one industry
supporter told
Gambling911, citing
industry wide
perception that a
Democratic President
is best for the
country.
"He's pretty much
against the Bush
administration.
He's the one who
fought to have the
surge in Iraq in
order to save
countless numbers of
lives."
He
also pushed to have
college sports
betting and Ultimate
Fighting banned.
Albeit his rationale
at least seemed
plausible at the
time, claiming that
betting on College
games could lead to
"inside fixes" by
"unpaid" student
players and
suggesting Ultimate
Fighting was nothing
more than a "human
cockfight".
McCain himself is
known to play at the
Vegas tables.
McCain's colleague
in Arizona,
Republican Senator
Jon Kyl, was the
brainchild behind
current online
gambling prohibition
(the Unlawful
Internet Gaming
Enforcement Act).
A bipartisan group
of politicians, led
by the likes of
Democrat Barney
Frank and Republican
Ron Paul, are
fighting to have the
law overturned.
McCain has had
little to say about
online gambling as a
whole though it can
be argued that any
long term economic
stimulus plan should
include legalization
of the industry.
In
its heyday - prior
to prohibition -
Internet gambling
took in well over a
billion dollars
operating
exclusively off US
shores though
catering mostly to
Americans.
Republicans haven't
all been about
squashing the
activity.
Quite the contrary,
some have been among
the industry's most
outspoken allies.
Murray Sabrin
- the Republican
candidate for New
Jersey Senator -
told Gambling911.com
this week he is all
for legalizing
online gambling.
Likewise, Ron Paul
has become the
industry's best
friend in Congress
along with Barney
Frank. While
running for
President himself
(and it should be
noted he's still on
the Republican
ballot to this day),
Paul learned
firsthand the power
of having support
from the gambling
sector. He
came in an
impressive second
place during the
Nevada Primary,
ahead of John McCain
we might add.
Online gambling
legalization was
such an important
topic there that
both Democratic
candidates Hillary
Clinton and Barack
Obama were asked to
comment on their own
stances.
Hillary was quoted
as saying she
welcomed "a study
into the regulation
of Internet
gambling".
Barack expressed
concerns over
underage gambling on
the Web but did not
rule out a study
either. Obama
himself is a poker
player who most
believe would
support - at the
very least -
legalized online
poker.
With
one million plus
Poker Player
Alliance members, it
certainly can't hurt
to make friends
within this
community. It
was the PPA and
other industry
allies who helped to
get another online
gambling nemesis out
of office - Iowa
Congressman Jim
Leach. He was
the frontrunner
heading into the
2006 Election.
The Des Moines
Register credited a
well organized
campaign by Internet
gambling operators
and the PPA with
Leach's shocking
upset.
Combined, over a
million Iowa
households were sent
notices regarding
Leach's stance on i-gaming
whereby he claimed
"Internet gambling
weakened the economy
and jeopardized the
social fabric of the
family."
----
Christopher
Costigan,
Gambling911.com
Publisher
CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published
April 25, 2008 12:21
am EST |
