Online Poker’s Biggest Victory in Years (RAWA Bill Sponsor Gets Disemboweled Before His Own Subcommittee)

 

Watching Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) flounder and fumble his way through multiple hours of congressional testimony on Wednesday reminded me of painful memories on my high school debate team.

I was engaged in a debate on some topic or other and as we went back and forth, I gradually came to realize the futility of my arguments.  By the closing remarks, I was in complete agreement with the other side.  Unfortunately, when engaged in a team debate competition, one can’t simply concede defeat and walk off the stage.  So, I used my final summation to run through the motions in a halfhearted attempt to save some face and then exit the room as quickly as possible.

One suspects Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) had pretty much the same nauseous feeling deep in the pit of his stomach during much of yesterday.  By the time the flimsy shambles of his outdated talking points had been utterly disemboweled before his own peers who were summoned and dutifully assembled before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Chairman Chaffetz resembled a trifling trial lawyer making his final desperate plea to the jury for a client he knew was headed off to the electric chair.

Rep. Chaffetz certainly didn’t plan it this way.  Things were supposed to go so much easier.  After all, he’s the committee chairman in a congress controlled by Republicans, which has been trying to shut down online gambling in the United States since 1998 (to be fair, many Democrats also support various bans).  Rep. Chaffetz sponsors a bill that’s currently pending in the House of Representatives known as Restore American’s Wire Act — or “RAWA” for short.  No attempt whatsoever was made to camouflage the direction Rep. Chaffetz intended to take in Wednesday’s hearings, given the incendiary scare tagline, “A Casino in Every Smartphone:  Law-Enforcement Implications.”

The hearing was a mismatch from the start.  From his opening remarks, nothing went right for RAWA’s supporters.  When fears were raised repeatedly about genuine concerns as to geo-location and underage gambling, thankfully Nevada State Senator and former Nevada Gaming Control Board member Mark Lipparelli was on hand and fully prepared to swat the fallacy-ridden arguments like flies at a picnic.  Turns out, the very best evidence was having three states (Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware) already engaged in addressing these issues.  Citing evidence from the actual experiences of states where legalized online gambling has proven to be a beneficial enterprise that can be effectively controlled and regulated, gutted the baseless claims and fears parroted by critics.

Aside from Rep. Chaffetz’s bumbling chairmanship and embarrassing lack of facts, RAWA’s most humiliating moments were when backers tried unsuccessfully to tie online gambling with financing acts of global terrorism.  At one point, one of the proponents giving testimony was asked to cite any cases where this had occurred particularly since (3) states began to legalize and regulate iGaming.  The witness flipped-flopped for a few seconds shuffled some papers around, paused, and then finally retorted, “I’ll have to get back to you on that.”  That chestnut became a favored stalling tactic that was frequently clutched in desperation throughout the day — essentially politico speak for “NO — I HAVE NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER.”

Things got so perplexing for RAWA’s supporters that at one point a 30-minute adjournment was suddenly called by Rep. Chaffetz.  When the live video feed resumed, the committee chairman was nowhere to be seen or heard for more than an hour, presumably scurrying around the House Rayburn Office Building performing a Google search….“online gambling + terrorism + help!.”  Fortunately for him, he didn’t come back completely empty-handed.  His staff hastily printed up a news story buried in an online archive from around 2007 presumably linking online gambling to something bad that happened somewhere in the world — so outdated and irrelevant it might as well have triggered the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand.

Indeed, the hearing was a slaughter, no less on the home field of the fire-breathing rhetorical-tongued dragon before his very own clan of connivers who got to see the chairman-emperor wears no clothes.  I’m hardly alone in my gloating assessment.  Here are three widely-respected gaming media outlets that provide a much more thorough recount of the course of events:

Read Matthew Kredell’s report at PokerNews.com

Read Aaron Todd’s overview at CasinoCity.com

Read Steve Ruddock’s scathing evisceration at AllInMag.com

As for ramifications, yesterday was the biggest victory for online poker and iGaming in years.  RAWA as a stand-alone bill may not quite be dead, but it’s certainly in a coma.  It seems just a matter of time before the plug gets pulled on this cronyism.  Its supporters now know any future attempts to ramrod this legislation through Congress will face an impenetrable gauntlet of opposition, and not just from pro-gambling forces and free-thinking libertarians, but from the very oddest of allies.  Even hard-core conservatives concerned about “states’ rights” stepped forward during the hearing and made their voices heard loud and clear.  Opponents to Chaffetz bill even included a former preacher, now a Republican congressman, who vociferously opposes all forms of gambling.  Nonetheless, he objected to RAWA because, in his view, it violates the precepts of the 10th Amendment.  Hey, when you have ex-preachers with a perfect 100 percent voting record from the American Conservative Union speaking out against an anti-gambling bill, it’s time to turn out the lights.  The party’s over — at least for them.  Ours is just getting started.

If failure is an orphan, political victories share lots of proud paternity.  Rightful credit should go to the Poker Players Alliance (John Pappas, Rich Muny, and others) who have worked tirelessly on this, and with limited resources and budget.  I’m told they spent considerable time lobbying committee members, prepping witnesses, helping to create an effective video that was shown at the hearing, and made certain that evidence was introduced into the congressional record that demonstrated online gambling’s viability and credibility.  Bravo!

Meanwhile, I can’t help but call out the American Gaming Association once again for their glaring absence in this debate.  The AGA abandoned the very principle of our rights to gamble in a regulated environment with government protections when they reversed their support for online gambling a few years ago.  Call them that they are — politically irrelevant when it comes to anything to do with iGaming.

The fight isn’t over, of course.  Not as long as billionaire bully Sheldon Adelson is off somewhere making campaign contributions and still writing checks with lots of zeroes to burned-out former politicians willing to wash his socks.  However, Wednesday’s hearings were a long-awaited sunbeam through the parting clouds that have darkened the online gambling landscape for nearly a decade.  It was a reaffirmation that sometimes the system does work.  With good organization, well-informed witnesses, proper education, effective tools, and most important of all, a fair forum to engage in debate and advocacy, we don’t just have a fighting chance, but an irrefutable cause.

The full spectacle in all its glory can be watched here at the official government website which has archived the committee hearings.  CLICK HERE

Finally, one presumes this photo pretty much sums up Adelson’s take on the RAWA hearings yesterday….

Notes:

Photo Credit (Adelson):  Aaron Tam/AFP/Getty Images)