Three Republican senators revived legislation to ban online gambling the day after billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson's $20 million donation to a Republican super PAC went public, according to The Washington Post.
Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton introduced the bill, and it was co-sponsored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Utah Sen. Mike Lee. The legislation would ban financial institutions from processing internet gambling transactions, the Post reported.
The Senate Leadership Fund super PAC got $28 million in August, more than it raised during the 2016 election cycle, according to the Post. Federal Election Commission filings show that $20 million came from Adelson and his wife Miriam and was made public Sept. 20. Cotton's legislation was introduced Sept. 21.
Adelson is a major donor for the GOP and is chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands casino.
BusinessWire reported research that said the online gambling market will grow to more than $4 billion by 2020. The U.S. is the eighth largest online gambling market in the world, behind China, U.K., Australia, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.
Graham and Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz introduced previous versions of the bill in 2014, called the Restoration of America's Wire Act. Adelson was involved in that push.
Earlier in September, Adelson committed $45 million to the Donald Trump campaign and to PACs that support Republicans in the House and Senate.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.