Lindsey Graham's Anti-Online Gambling Stance is Key to Presidential Run

South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham is now in the running for the 2016 Presidential nod. Most consider him a long shot to win the Republican nomination, but he does have an ace up his sleeve – or maybe not since he strongly dislikes online gambling.

In fact, Graham’s anti-online gambling stance may be the key to him competing for the Republican Presidential candidate position. The reason why is because Sheldon Adelson and his $30 billion net worth have heavily backed the anti-internet gambling agenda. Adelson, who owns the Las Vegas Sands empire, claims that iGaming is a moral problem that will lead to the downfall of society. In the past, he’s vowed to “spend whatever it takes” to eliminate what he sees as a potential threat to America.

This is where Graham comes in because he’s one of the most-ardent ers of the Adleson-backed Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA). If ed through Congress and signed into effect, RAWA would ban iGaming in all 50 U.S. States.

It’s largely believed that Adelson only wants to protect his own interests in America, and he has no desire to compete in the online gambling sector. That’s why politicians like Graham are so key to his agenda because they wield significant influence on Capitol Hill. Graham especially has notability, which is why he seems a very likely person to be backed by Adelson’s millions.

There is plenty of opposition to Adelson and Graham’s mission, including many major American casino corporations. Most casinos see iGaming as a potential way to generate additional revenue from those who don’t usually visit land-based casinos. And this can definitely be seen in New Jersey, one of three states offering online gambling. The Garden State typically makes between $10 and $12 million through online casino games/poker, which is seen as attractive to other states like California, New York and Pennsylvania – all three of which could New Jersey, Delaware and Nevada in legalizing iGaming.

But for that to happen, online gambling proponents must hope that Adelson, Graham and other like-minded politicians can’t accomplish their goal of getting RAWA ed. Because if it does – or even get attached to other legislation like the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) of 2006 – then iGaming will be banned on a federal level.