BIG GUNS BEHIND NEW U.S ATTEMPT TO LEGALISE ONLINE GAMBLING

Posted 3/4/11 : Latest proposal seeks to legalise at federal level….again
 
Political personalities who have been in the legalization headlines before have surfaced again, this time in news of a joint proposal that combines the knowledge and experience of the past two years to construct another bipartisan legalization initiative.
 
The New York Post reports that Thursday's rejection of a New Jersey intrastate legalization bill by Governor Chris Christie may have been influenced by the new federal proposal, which reportedly embraces both poker and casino online gaming.
 
Influential politicians like Democrats Barney Frank and Harry Reid have apparently joined forces with Republican John Campbell in constructing the new attempt, according to the respected publisher of Global Gaming Business, Roger Gros.
 
The new bill will be presented soon as an enforcement measure, ostensibly to clean up an industry that is supported by millions of Americans and generates billions of dollars, despite determined political and enforcement attempts to kill it off over the years.
 
And of course it will have the added attraction of delivering tax revenues.
 
Gros told the New York Post: "The planets have aligned rather quickly for this federal version to succeed in Congress. Since it is couched as law enforcement legalization, it's gained new support from conservative Republicans."
 
The newspaper claims that David Satz, a former adviser to Governor Christie and a senior lobbyist for land group Caesar's Entertainment, may have influenced the governor's decision to veto the New Jersey bill. Caesars is known to favour legalization, but through a federal rather than state-by-state approach.
 
Gros told the Post that the lobbyist was "instrumental in the governor's veto."
 
"David Satz holds a lot of sway with Christie when it comes to gaming on the Internet," Gros said. "Caesar's owns the World Series of Poker plus the Caesar's brands – a double shotgun when online gaming is legalised."
 
Satz didn't return calls seeking his comment.