{"id":18628,"date":"2014-02-22T05:30:37","date_gmt":"2014-02-22T05:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=18628"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:18:22","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T21:18:22","slug":"nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Blah
Nevada Senator Dean Heller says only online poker should be allowed per the 1961 Wire Act, and wants to introduce federal legislation to back that up (Image: stevenhenrysamson.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Federal legislation to prohibit all forms of online gambling except poker will be introduced \u201cwithin the month or so\u201d, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev) told sources this week. Heller has been working with his colleague Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) to restore the strict interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, which was used to prohibit online gambling, particularly sports betting, before a Department of Justice reinterpretation<\/a> relaxed the law in the favor of the Illinois and New York State lotteries several years ago.<\/p>\n

Protecting Land Gaming, Heller Says<\/h2>\n

This news probably won’t go over well with the likes of casino giants Caesars and Station Casinos, which have spent millions investing in online gambling in Nevada and New Jersey, as well as lobbying for its expansion into other states; although in Nevada, at least, poker is all either casino operator has going online anyway for now, by dictates of the Gaming Commission. Ironically, however, it\u2019s the Las Vegas casinos that Heller claims he wants to protect, arguing that online gambling would destroy Nevada\u2019s gambling and tourism industries.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Caesars and Station Casinos] are corporate entities and they believe they can play the game,\u201d Heller said. \u201cThey\u2019re corporate entities. They\u2019ve got to keep their shareholders happy \u2026 They\u2019ve made the determination that they can compete in that market \u2026 I think the devastation for brick and mortar [casinos] in this state \u2026 would just be a final nail, I think, in keeping these businesses healthy,\u201d added the Senator.<\/p>\n

This puts Heller sort of, kind of in camp with Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson, and Steve Wynn, who also recently spoke out against online gambling; Adelson and new ally Wynn, however, don’t want any Internet gambling options whatsoever, not even poker, which is all that Nevada now offers anyway (with that not likely to change anytime soon).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sands, of course, operates luxury Las Vegas Strip casinos the Venetian and Palazzo, while Wynn has his eponymous property, as well the Encore, close by. Adelson has been a vociferous opponent of online gambling and, as chairman of the Coalition to Stop\u00a0Internet Gambling (CSIG) which he created, claims his objections are \u201cmoral\u201d; saying that online gambling promotes social ills in a way that his own land-based form of gambling doesn\u2019t. Adelson has pledged to spend \u201cwhatever it takes\u201d to defeat any pro-Internet gambling bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Adelson brings up some reasonable concerns,\u201d said Heller, who confirmed he had discussed the situation with Adelson, as well as the pro Internet gambling lobby. \u201cAnd to have the wild, wild West as an empire of gambling for the country would have some serious social implications. And I think that\u2019s what he\u2019s concerned with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re trying to keep it from being just a Nevada issue,\u201d he added. \u201cSo Harry and I are trying to look for help from members in each of our conferences to come forward with legislation that, hopefully, long-term, provides a solution for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expecting Opposition<\/h2>\n

Heller acknowledges that his and Reid\u2019s efforts will receive strong opposition from the pro-online gambling camps, but adds that they are simply trying to do \u201cwhat\u2019s best for the state of Nevada.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now there\u2019s a majority probably around here that want nothing done,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know, they want it Wild Wild West when it comes to Internet gambling. And I don\u2019t think that\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have members of the AGA [American Gaming Association] taking one position, then you have members [ e.g., Adelson and Wynn] taking a different position,\u201d Heller said. \u201cSo it\u2019s kind of tough trying to keep on the straight and narrow \u2026 when this is an issue that changes every day \u2014 who\u2019s for it and who\u2019s against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AGA has officially taken up a pro-Internet stance, despite some member opposition, and backs the new Coalition for Consumer and Online Protections (C4COP) that was created to fight back against Adelson’s CSIG group.<\/p>\n

One camp that could take positives from the Heller interview will be the Poker Players\u2019 Alliance (PPA), an organization which has long campaigned for poker to be recognized by the government as a game of skill \u2013 and one that should be legislated for separately from other forms of gambling. To the PPA, Heller\u2019s direct acknowledgement of this, and declaration that \u201cThere is no daylight between where Senator Reid and myself are on this particular issue,\u201d will be seen as a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Federal legislation to prohibit all forms of online gambling except poker will be introduced \u201cwithin the month or so\u201d, U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-Nev) told sources this week. Heller has been working with his colleague Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev) to restore the strict interpretation of the 1961 Wire Act, which was used to prohibit online […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":18639,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13,18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-22T05:30:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-10-11T21:18:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/\",\"name\":\"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-22T05:30:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-10-11T21:18:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1280,\"caption\":\"Nevada Senator Dean Heller is proposing legislation to ban all Internet gambling, except poker. ((Image: stevenhenrysamson.com)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Commercial Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Live Casinos\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/live-casinos\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill","description":"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill","og_description":"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2014-02-22T05:30:37+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-10-11T21:18:22+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":1280,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/","name":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg","datePublished":"2014-02-22T05:30:37+00:00","dateModified":"2022-10-11T21:18:22+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Nevada Senators Dean Heller and Harry Reid claim to be protecting Nevada's land gaming interests by pushing for a stricter Wire Act interpretation again.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/heller.jpg","width":1024,"height":1280,"caption":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller is proposing legislation to ban all Internet gambling, except poker. ((Image: stevenhenrysamson.com)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/nevada-senator-dean-heller-to-introduce-anti-online-gambling-bill\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Commercial Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Live Casinos","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/commercial-gaming\/live-casinos\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Nevada Senator Dean Heller to Introduce Anti-Online Gambling Bill"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}