An effort to ban gambling on the Internet has picked up prominent supporters in Congress, although significant obstacles remain in the way of it becoming law. The Restoration of America’s Wire Act, which would make online gaming illegal nationwide, was introduced in the Senate last week by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has pushed similar legislation before. This time, however, the bill includes a bigger name among its co-sponsors: Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Rubio and Graham are contenders for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, but Rubio’s political star power — as reflected by his poll numbers — is much higher….

An online gambling bill in Pennsylvania remains in limbo as a deadline for the state budget looms and an impasse between Gov. Tom Wolf and Republicans in the legislature is unresolved. Since a Senate hearing in the Community, Economic, and Recreational Development Committee held earlier this month, there’s been little to report in terms of progress for any of the five proposed bills in Pennsylvania that would regulate internet gambling. The online gambling bill, though, is just one of the moving parts as Pennsylvania attempts to pass a budget to fund the state government. The budget has a soft deadline of Tuesday. Republicans…

Two Republican senators running for president reintroduced a bill Wednesday that would effectively ban Internet poker and other forms of online gambling—legislation that has long been championed by casino magnate and GOP mega-donor Sheldon Adelson. Both Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio joined a handful of Republicans and one Democrat in reviving the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, a measure that proponents say would “restore” the proper interpretation of a decades-old federal ban on some gambling operations by expanding it to include Internet gambling. The four-page bill is nearly the same as a measure introduced last year and closely mirrors a…

Nearly all Pennsylvania casinos, and a number of key legislators, are principally united in support of online gaming. But those hoping to cross the regulatory bridge must first contend with an imposing foe: Sheldon Adelson. And backed by the casino magnate’s estimated $28 billion fortune, an oppositional campaign is already underway in the state. Sands Bethlehem boss Mark Juliano testified recently at a hearing of Senator Kim Ward’s Community, Economic and Recreational Development Committee. Echoing Adelson’s opposition, Juliano sharply criticized regulatory efforts. “Today, proposals are being considered which will erode the successful progress we have made in Pennsylvania,” said Juliano,…

States that draw revenue from casinos should regulate online gambling, as online has a complementary, not cannibalistic, effect on land-based gambling. That’s one takeaway from a recently published study entitled “Consumer spending in the gaming industry: evidence of complementary demand in casino and online venues” penned by gambling experts Kahlil S. Philander, Brett Abarbanel and Toni Repetti for International Gambling Studies. The authors advise that “US operators should recognize the positive value that online gambling can have with relation to their online operations,” suggesting that operators are best served integrating online gambling as part of their overall offering, as opposed…

France needs to radically overhaul its online gambling market, according to a new study by the association representing the country’s online operators. The Association Française de Jeu en Ligne (AFJEL) has released a study of the first five years of France’s regulated online gambling market. The study credits the market with mostly achieving its primary objectives of keeping a lid on problem gambling behavior, ensuring funding for sports federations and the integrity of sporting events. So much for the good. AFJEL spared no venom in castigating the country’s much-maligned taxation levels, which hits operators with a corporation tax of 33%,…