Sheldon Adelson’s anti-gambling group, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, was in attendance today during a federal hearing involving sports betting. The group was represented by Jon Bruning, the former Attorney General in the state of Nebraska. During the hearing, Bruning decided to testify during the subcommittee hearing, held by a House subcommittee, stating that online poker is unconstitutional, comparing it to the regulation of marijuana.
During the hearing, Bruning commented that when he was the Attorney General in Nebraska, he tried to filed an action to see the US Supreme Court rule that the marijuana laws of Colorado, where it had been legalized, to be in violation of the constitution. The court did not take the case and the former AG says that residents in Nebraska continue to suffer from the legalization of the drug with no legal action being taken.
The former AG said that the same type of harm will happen in Nebraska when online sports betting is legalized. Online gambling is not legal in his home state and there are no resources in place to protect kids from illegal online gambling operations offering games that are tempting via cell phones. Bruning stated that the states that are legalizing online gambling without preventing the activity from being offered in Nebraska are in violation of the 10th amendment.
Bruning continued with this argument but did not mention the fact that geolocation is used to help operators offer online poker and casino gaming, and sports betting in some instances, within their borders. With geolocation technology, an operator can determine the location of the individual trying to play and those who are not in a state’s border will not have access to gaming.
Bruning says that online gambling providers are not equipped to enforce their laws against interstate and international companies. The efforts of Bruning seemed to be a way to try and discredit online gaming. However, there were plenty of individuals on hand to be able to show the truth behind the various online gaming industries and help to promote sports betting among other gaming options in the states.
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