Online Casinos Wary of Obama Attorney General's History
The online casino industry has been cautiously optimistic since Barack Obama won the US Presidential election. Congress had already built momentum toward bills that would repeal the UIGEA and legalize and regulate online gambling. Obama seems a perfect fit for Internet gambling operators, having promised to keep the Internet free from censorship.
But Obama's choice for Attorney General may not be as friendly toward online gaming as many hope. Eric Holder is by all accounts an extremely qualified candidate, but his past ties to both the Department of Justice and bitter foes of online casino gambling make industry insiders wonder what his approach may be.
Since leaving office as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno, Holder has worked at law firm Covington and Burling, a major D.C. firm. While working there, Holder represented the National Football League in many matters, including the Michael Vick case and negotiations with the federal government regarding performance-enhancing drugs.
The NFL is one of the most powerful groups lobbying Congress to keep banning online gambling in all forms. William Wichterman, a paid lobbyist for the NFL and Covington and Burling until last spring, reportedly used influence from his White House position to force through the finalization of UIGEA regulations against online gambling.
Holder's close relationship with the NFL is not the only worry. Years spent in the Department of Justice also raise concern, considering the tradition extending back two decades of the Department's members disregarding laws they are sworn to uphold, instead bullying, intimidating, and extorting antagonists to achieve a perverse view of justice.
In the online casino community, the examples of the BetOnSports persecutions and the recent Partygaming plea illustrate law enforcement rabidly enforcing laws that do not exist through thug tactics. Between a cozy history with the NFL, and association with a Department of Justice that seems to feel the ends justify the means, Holder has online casino operators worried that he might continue hardline attitudes at the Attorney General's office.
Hopefully, Holder will turn out to be a wise choice to bring life to Obama's promises to limit executive authority, and will cede any lingering impulses to act against online casinos in the light of new, expressed desires of Congress. But the situation bears close watching.
