One of the aspects of politics that makes me die a little inside is that there are times when I have to side with some shit brain whose words, ideas, and actions are so ass-backwards that it makes me wonder how they make it out of the house in the morning without impaling themselves on their toothbrush. So when New Jersey Governor and private sun bather Chris Christie signed a joint resolution urging the United States Congress to not give any RAWA-like bills any sort of consideration, I have to swallow the bit of vomit that bubbled up into the back of my mouth and at least give him a polite golf clap.
It’s not like he’s doing it for any other reason than to protect his state’s online gambling industry and it’s not like anyone on Capitol Hill or in the Trump administration will heed him any mind, but it’s better than not signing the joint resolution.
Despite multiple failures to gain any traction and widespread criticism from both sides of the political aisle, RAWA – or something like it – keeps threatening to rear its ugly head again. The devil spawn of billionaire Republican donor and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. Sheldon Adelson, RAWA (the Restoration of America’s Wire Act), aims to effectively ban all online gambling in the U.S. Three states- New Jersey, Delaware, and Nevada – have legalized and regulated online gambling industries and several others are working on it.
Most people with a brain and any sort of honesty know RAWA is bullshit, but Adelson and a select few of his cronies couldn’t care less.
Assembly Joint Resolution #137 is basically just a statement, holding no real clout of any kind, but it is a way for the New Jersey government to at least get its feelings on paper so that perhaps someone will read it and have the thought of online poker occupy their day for a moment.
AR 137 was introduced in January, but nothing really happened with it until early June, when it passed by a 36-1-3 vote in the Assembly and then a 75-0-5 vote in the Senate later that month. Chris Christie signed it on Friday.
The important part of the Resolution is as follows:
This resolution urges United States President Donald Trump, members of President Trump’s administration, and Congress to oppose any measures and actions that would prohibit states to conduct Internet gaming. Recent measures in Congress, if pursued by the new Congress and supported by the President and his administration, would prohibit the transmission by wire communication of any bet or wager or of information assisting in the placement of any bet or wager, including Internet gaming.
After reminding the reader that Attorney General Jeff Sessions said he would revisit the U.S. Department of Justice’s clarification of the Wire Act, the Resolution goes on to say:
A federal prohibition against Internet gaming would directly and negatively impact New Jersey by dismantling the investments that the State and Atlantic City casinos have already made to implement and regulate Internet gaming, taking away the economic and employment opportunities already realized by the State and its residents, and foreclosing the future potential of Internet gaming to generate tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue, create high-tech software jobs, and foster valuable business ventures for Atlantic City casinos in this State.
It is unknown if the Joint Resolution has been translated into Russian for easier consumption by the White House.