GPWA Times Magazine - Issue 27 - February 2014

W e’ve watched a lot of U.S. Congressional hearings on on- line gambling over the last decade here at the APCW, and we’ve seen just about everything. Eight years ago, lawmakers were decrying our indus- try as the “crack cocaine of gambling” and spouting ridiculous sound bites such as “Click your mouse and lose your house.” However, in recent years we’ve seen an evolution in the stance of many federal lawmakers on the issue. The most recent hearing, held by the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, included the most receptive audience of law- makers we’ve seen yet. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t still some people who believe – or more accurately, want to make YOU believe – that regulating our industry in the United States is the worst thing that could possibly happen. We can understand this type of hyster- ical overstatement if you’re opposed to any type of gambling. We get it. You don’t like gambling. You think it ruins lives and preys on problem gamblers. While we disagree with your charac- terization of our industry, we respect your principled stance on the issue and agree that more should be done to protect vulnerable populations. But it’s another thing entirely when someone who makes billions of dollars on brick-and-mortar casinos decries the online version of the industry. As strange as it sounds, that’s exactly what Sheldon Adelson, the chairman and chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has done. Adelson, who has amassed $37.2 billion thanks to the gamblers who frequent his land-based casinos, is putting on a full-court press against online gambling. He wrote an opin- ion piece for Forbes , opening with the tired “Click your mouse and lose your house” shtick, decrying Internet gam- bling as “fool’s gold.” And while he didn’t personally attend the recent Congressional hearing, he sent his lackey, Andrew Abboud (aka Sands’ senior vice president), to advo- cate his position. Poor, poor Andrew found that his arguments were hope- lessly overmatched. Rep. Jan Schakowksy (D-Ill.) brought up the fact that The Venetian, which is the Sands’ flagship Las Vegas casino, utilizes a mobile sports betting prod- uct which can be used anywhere in the state of Nevada, and a mobile casino product which can be used anywhere on The Venetian property, including its hotel rooms. “It feels to me, a little hypocritical,” she said. Adelson’s entire stance is hypocriti- cal, and it’s not just the tired old sound bites. He claims the online gambling industry doesn’t create jobs the way the brick-and-mortar industry does. I think the affiliates and affiliate man- agers reading this at LAC and ICE would disagree. He says that minors are more likely to gain access to online sites. That’s a bit rich from a company that was fined $56,000 for allowing four underage people to gamble in the first half of 2013 (and that’s just the ones who got caught) in the Sands’ Bethlehem, Pa., casino. Meanwhile, not one underage gambler has turned up in nearly a year of regulated online poker in Nevada and two months of online gambling in New Jersey and Delaware. To make matters worse, Adelson in- sists on putting his money where his hypocritical mouth is. He told the Washington Post he’ll spend “what- ever it takes” to make sure online gam- bling doesn’t gain traction at the state or federal level. Problem is, he’s al- ready losing. People in Nevada can al- ready play online poker. And people in New Jersey and Delaware can gamble on slots, table games and poker online. Sheldon’s been known to throw his money at losing causes. He gave Newt Gingrich $5 million in his failed run for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, and later donated $10 million to the pro-Romney po- litical action committee Restore Our Future. Last we checked, Mitt Romney ain’t the President of the United States. Unfortunately for Sheldon, but fortunately for us, this is going to be another losing battle. But Sheldon, at least you’ll get a con- solation prize. As a result of your du- plicitous stance, you’ve earned eternal fame now that you’ve been enshrined on the APCWWall of Shame. W all of S hame APCW Wall of Shame