Although a small number of states began legalizing and regulating online gambling within their borders last year, many are still lobbying the Federal Government intensely with the hopes to reverse the national posturing against online gambling.
Through it all, one of the most vocal advocates for deregulating online gambling has been billionaire gambling tycoon Sheldon Adelson. And in a recent post on NJ.com, both sides of the ongoing, and expensive, debate were explored. While Adelson has stated that he will spend “whatever it takes” to stop online gambling, due to concerns of moral compromise, he has only invested $460,000 in his campaign thus far.
Although this is a large sum of money, it pales in comparison to the millions upon millions that casinos who advocate for online gambling have spent in favor of legalized online gambling through lobbying, marketing, and more. Such gaming industry heavyweights as Caesars, MGM and Boyd gaming spent over $200,000 each in Q2 alone and Caesars Entertainment has already spent close to $1 million in 2014.
While the spending has been big on both sides of the debate, none of the amounts above include private donations spent both for and against deregulation. So far only 3 states have legalized online gambling—Nevada, New Jersey, and Delaware. But more are expected to follow… and soon.
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