{"id":29606,"date":"2015-06-25T12:48:36","date_gmt":"2015-06-25T19:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=29606"},"modified":"2015-06-25T13:00:28","modified_gmt":"2015-06-25T20:00:28","slug":"rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/","title":{"rendered":"RAWA Hits Senate Floor as GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful Lindsey Graham Gets Lambasted by PPA"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"RAWA
Senator Lindsey Graham’s introduction of RAWA to the Senate this week came under fire from John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance, who questioned its timing to a near-empty House that had adjourned. (Image: motherjones.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

RAWA, the brainchild of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has now been introduced to the Senate.<\/p>\n

The legislation, formally known as the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, seeks to restore what opponents of online gambling believe to be the original and correct interpretation of the 1961 Federal Wire Act, before it was reinterpreted by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in 2011.<\/p>\n

The Wire Act, in its original wording, specifically prohibited \u201cbetting or wagering\u201d using \u201ca wire communication facility for the transmission.\u201d<\/p>\n

The DoJ\u2019s legal opinion of 2011 asserted this merely related to sports betting over the Internet, rather than poker or casino gaming, which paved the way for individual states to legalize and regulate online gambling within their borders in the last few years.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s bill, if passed, would effectively ban all forms of online gambling at the federal level, apart from horse race betting and fantasy sports. No exemptions would be made for the three states (Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware) that have already opted to regulate online gaming, or, indeed, for the dozen or so that have chosen to offer online lottery ticket sales.<\/p>\n

Timing Is Suspect<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s long been expected that Graham, who sponsored the bill last year, would present RAWA to the Senate at some point in 2015, but, according to online poker lobby group the Poker Players Alliance<\/a>, the timing is deeply suspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the eyes of the nation are focused on South Carolina following the recent tragic event, I think I speak for most Americans when I express profound disappointment in Senator Graham for choosing this time to advance a bill for the sole benefit of a billionaire political donor,\u201d said John Pappas<\/a>, executive director of the PPA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Congress made the decision to adjourn early so they could attend services on Friday in Senator Graham\u2019s home-state. Unfortunately, Senator Graham has not reset his priorities and picked a very unfortunate time to engage in the Internet gaming debate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pappas also accuses Graham of cronyism. The Senator recently announced his decision to run for president, and many commentators believe that RAWA is important for Graham as a means of securing the sponsorship, and campaign donations of LVS Chairman Sheldon Adelson, who is known for his virulent hatred of all things related to online gaming.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

California Online Poker Hearings<\/h2>\n

\u201cIn 2014, following private meetings between billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson and Senator Lindsey Graham and several Adelson-sponsored fundraising events, Senator Graham introduced similar legislation to ban states\u2019 from authorizing Internet gambling within their own borders,\u201d said the PPA in an official statement this week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough Senator Graham has traditionally been a staunch states\u2019 rights advocate, this legislation would overturn whole-cloth the decisions of the states to authorize and license online gaming within their own borders.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheldon Adelson\u2019s power over politicians, especially those running for president, is significant, but Congress must show it is stronger,\u201d warned Pappas.<\/p>\n

While Graham was presenting his legislation to an empty Senate, Pappas was in Sacramento, addressing a hearing of California\u2019s General Assembly Committee on Governmental Organization on the feasibility legalizing online poker in the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no public policy justification for the status quo,\u201d he told the committee. \u201cDoing nothing is simply not an option. Now is the time for the legislature to regulate Internet poker.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAWA, the brainchild of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has now been introduced to the Senate. The legislation, formally known as the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, seeks to restore what opponents of online gambling believe to be the original and correct interpretation of the 1961 Federal Wire Act, before it was reinterpreted by the Department […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":29616,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRAWA Hits Senate Floor as GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful Lindsey Graham Gets Lambasted by PPA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RAWA, co-sponsored b GOP presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham, is introduced to Senate, but his motives and timing are criticized by PPA's John Pappas.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RAWA Hits Senate Floor as GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful Lindsey Graham Gets Lambasted by PPA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RAWA, co-sponsored b GOP presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham, is introduced to Senate, but his motives and timing are criticized by PPA's John Pappas.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/\" \/>\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=\"2015-06-25T19:48:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-06-25T20:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/RAWA-Lindsey-Graham-Senate.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"360\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"235\" \/>\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=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/\",\"name\":\"RAWA Hits Senate Floor as GOP 2016 Presidential Hopeful Lindsey Graham Gets Lambasted by PPA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/RAWA-Lindsey-Graham-Senate.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-06-25T19:48:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-06-25T20:00:28+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"RAWA, co-sponsored b GOP presidential hopeful Lindsey Graham, is introduced to Senate, but his motives and timing are criticized by PPA's John Pappas.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/rawa-hits-senate-floor-lindsey-graham-criticized-by-ppa\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/RAWA-Lindsey-Graham-Senate.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/RAWA-Lindsey-Graham-Senate.jpg\",\"width\":360,\"height\":235,\"caption\":\"Senator Lindsey Graham's introduction of RAWA to the Senate this week came under fire from John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance, who questioned its timing to a near-empty House that had adjourned. 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