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Adelson Garners Support in Opposing California Online Gambling From Political Beneficiaries
Sheldon Adelson has made his fortune from the gambling industry, and is waging war on Internet gambling with sheer ferocity. He has launched a campaign to ban state sanctioned online gambling in California, and has strategically garnered support from politicians who coffers he has been generous with. One example would be Florida Governor Rick Scott who has come out in support of Adelson and his campaign. With Florida's negative experience with Internet cafes, it is possible that Governor Scott genuinely does oppose online gambling. However we can't help but wonder if he may have been influenced by the hundreds of thousands of dollars that Adelson gave to political committees supportive of Scott, as well as the $2million he game to the Republican Governors Association. Scott is just one of the many political beneficiaries now openly siding with the billionaire tycoon.
Adelson argues that online gambling 'invades' our homes, work places, dorm rooms and kids' bedrooms and puts children at risk. His payroll is not limited to Republican politicians as quite a few democrats have joined his campaign as well. He stands to spend millions in this battle as he is going head to head with major gambling corporations who do indeed see the potential and value in joining the online gambling industry. It is proven that US players already heavily participate in online gambling options from legally licensed offshore casinos, including several online casinos accepting CA players; hence online gambling is already a part of the services US players, including those in California, are enjoying. The only question is whether or not that money will be spent at home or abroad.
New Jersey's online gambling initiative is a great example of how funneling the online options through existing casino brands ensures that those casinos are not harmed by the introduction of state based online gambling offerings. New Jersey has increased their revenue significantly through the tax and fee infrastructure that they've established to manage their virtual gambling industry. It's a win / win situation. In many cases, those online players in NJ are individuals who would not otherwise participate in gambling at land based destinations, at least not as often as they are willing to login from the comfort of their own home or office. NJ has demonstrated that the result is an increase in revenue, not decrease; hence we're really not so sure what Adelson is so skittish about. Perhaps continued success from NJ, NV and DE will change calm his fears at some point.
Despite how much political support Adelson is able to 'buy' for his cause, he faces opponents that have equally deep pockets and clout within the industry, and who are eager to see online gambling get off the ground, and soon. These opponents to Adelson recognize the value and potential payoff from joining this venture, and have a great number of supporters who don't believe that the government should be able to tell them that they are prohibited from enjoying responsible online gambling activity in the privacy of their own home or office. Numbers on both sides of the issue are strong and arguments are heated. We hope that in the end, it is left up to the voters and residents of the region to determine the fate of online gambling for the great state of California.