Senator Reid Sits On The Fence

May 21, 2009 - Written by Renee

US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has yet to make known whether he is in favor of the regulation of online gambling or against it. Unfortunately Reid is in a Catch 22 situation. He has been elected from the state of Nevada. And his constituents are evenly divided on the issue. So no matter which way he swings he is likely to anger half his electorate and this is not good for the election he will face.  

Powerful personalities like Steve Wynn are against online gambling and Reid cannot afford to alienate them. On the other hand the big land casinos are waiting to exploit online gambling as soon as the nod is given and they have been big financers of Reid in the past. This choice between the devil and the deep sea has prompted Reid to sit on the fence. A statement released by his office has acknowledged the importance of online gambling to the state but has hedged by adding that regulation of online gambling cannot be effective. In the past Reid has opposed the licensing and regulation of online casinos.  But then he had the full support of the land based casino industry, which looked upon online gambling as competition. Now the American Gaming Association, which represents the land based casinos, is split on the issue. Half the industry sees online gambling as a potential money spinner.  

Reid will not be able to shy away from taking a stand for long. Barney Frank’s bill to repeal the UIGEA and regulate online casinos should move to the Senate soon. Reid would then have to decide which half of his electorate he would rather displease.