Sheldon Adelson firmly against legalization of online gambling in the U.S.

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Sheldon Adelson firmly against legalization of online gambling in the U.S.

27/06/2013

Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands is against legalization of online gambling in the U.S.

Several state legislatures are considering proposals to allow the legalization of online gaming in the US while Nevada, New Jersay and Delaware already approved. Sheldon Adelson claimed is opposition to the “legalization and proliferation of online casino gaming”. According to him, online gambling is “fool’s gold”. “With the expansion of Internet gaming now taking place at a state level, I strongly urge Congress to either rewrite the Federal Wire Act, or pass new legislation making Internet gaming illegal nationwide, said Adelson. Additionally, I encourage greater enforcement of the laws currently prohibiting offshore Internet gaming companies from engaging in transactions with U.S. citizens”. Before adding: “Critics will clam I have ulterior motives in taking such a strong stand on this issue. They will say I am just afraid to compete for this business or that I am worried about the impact on my land-based casinos in Nevada and Pennsylvania. First, with our popular brands, we would be very effective competitors in this market place. Having started more than 50 different successful businesses over the course of my nearly seven decades, I am not afraid of competing with anyone. Second, our company makes twice as much money from our non-gaming attractions in the United States than we do from our casino operations. Finally, almost all our casino profits come from Asia, where online gambling doesn’t exist and won’t be legalized soon, if ever”. According to him, the impact on his business would be limited but could hit harder other commercial casinos. “Recent research from a number of European countries shows that the proliferation of Internet gaming has, as a start, resulted in a 20 percent decrease in visitation the land-based casinos in those countries. That number is bound to worsen as Internet gaming dependency grows, argued Adelson. The research also shows that over the past ten years, Internet gambling revenue in Europe has gone up on average 26 to 28 percent. Meanwhile, land-based casino revenue has been flat or even contracted during that same period of time, even though it was expected to increase at five to ten percent per year. In short, the rise of Internet gaming has clearly come at cost of land-based casinos in Europe”. According to him, a loss of 200,000 direct gaming industry jobs and 200,000 indirect could occur across America.

Adelson said that online gambling could be the source of other problems. “Online gambling makes it possible for bets to be placed by anyone at any time. When gambling is available in every bedroom, every dorm room and every office space, there will be no way to fully determine that each wager has been placed in a rational and consensual manner. For example, the possibility of underage children finding ways to place online wagers and the possibility of people betting under the influence of drugs or being coerced are all scenarios that can happen when the person is only monitored by their own computer screen. On the other hand, when a person makes an effort to get dressed, join some friends and head to the local casino for a night of entertainment they must show themselves as adults, and their behavior can be observed and ultimately managed by security and other staff if needed”.

Source: Forbes

 

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