Heller says he's working with GOP leaders to legalize Web poker
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BY STEVE TETREAULT
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
Posted: Jul. 19, 2012 | 2:20 p.m.
WASHINGTON - Under challenge to deliver Republican votes on a bill prized by most Nevada casinos, Sen. Dean Heller said Thursday he's doing his part to advance online poker legislation that advocates believe is a "must pass" through Congress by the end of the year.
Heller said he is working to persuade Republican leaders and other GOP senators to clear the way for federal legislation that would make it legal to play poker over the Internet. Such a bill would allow the casino industry to tap into the billions of dollars already being wagered online.
"I've talked to leadership and a couple of colleagues," Heller said, naming Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and leadership deputies Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. He said the aim was to "make sure ... all of them have an idea of what we are trying to push in this effort."
Heller's comments come amidst a new wave of speculation about prospects for a federal bill, as a handful of states are moving forward to legalize online gambling within their jurisdictions. Gambling Compliance, an industry online newsletter, reported last week that key senators Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have agreed on a framework for a bill.
Without confirming where the negotiations stand, Reid, the Senate majority leader, told reporters Thursday that he and Kyl are talking and "we're now waiting again, as I do with a lot of things around here, to get some Republican support." Reid aides say he is looking for Kyl and for Heller, who is in a tight election race, to deliver GOP votes.
Talking with Nevada reporters outside the Senate chamber, Heller said he is "working with Kyl very closely to try to get something to happen."
While summaries of proposed legislation have circulated among a small group of stakeholders, a bill has not been introduced and would not be expected to surface until soon before Congress would be called on to act.
In particular, strategists are trying to identify some safe legislation to which a gambling expansion bill can be attached for sure passage. Such a major - and controversial - gaming bill could not pass as a stand-alone measure as it could draw opposition from a variety of interests including spurned casino competitors and social conservatives.
Heller said such a legislative "vehicle" has not yet been identified.
"There are a lot of discussions going on, not a lot of answers at this point," he said. "We're still talking about the nuts and bolts on this but time is running out."
Sheldon Adelson, chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., and a major Republican donor said to be close to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., has come out against legalizing gambling on the Internet, expressing concerns about its potential to expose young people to a potentially addictive practice.
"He has an opinion and obviously that is taken into consideration, and we have to work with it and around it to try to make something happen," Heller said of Adelson. "I certainly don't discount his position."
Heller said he believed gaming industry lobbyists continue to take Adelson's temperature on the issue.
"I'm sure they are reaching out and trying to get his opinion and feelings," Heller said. "I know what Adelson's concerns are. He just wants to make sure this is a tight system, that we don't have problems with illegal gambling or problems with youth getting on and having access to Internet gaming. I think his concerns are legitimate."
"I want everybody to have a voice in this process, including Mr. Adelson," Heller said. "We'll see how it ends up by the end of the day."
"I don't see his voice being any stronger or any less important than anybody else," Heller said of Adelson. "He is just part of the puzzle."
With states moving forward, advocates of national legislation believe Congress needs to act by the end of this year at the latest in order to maintain federal regulation of Internet gaming. A Justice Department opinion issued late last year has been interpreted as giving states the green light to move ahead on their own to legalize and tax online operations.
"It is critical that something happens this year" in Congress, Heller said. "If we get beyond this year, I think that states will have gone too far in their efforts to basically legalize everything." He said 16 states are considering legislation to legalize various forms on Internet gambling.
At that point, Heller said, Congress would come under pressure to grant exemptions to states already running games online.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or . Follow him on Twitter @STetreaultDC.
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