Last RAWA Supporter Standing’s Presidential Campaign is on Life Support

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A few weeks ago I penned a column warning online poker advocates that they should fear a Marco Rubio presidency, as the Florida Senator was the only remaining presidential candidate who publicly supported an online gambling ban.

It looks like that fear has now passed, as Rubio has gone from a viable challenger to front-runner Donald Trump, to also-ran over the past couple weeks. It’s not over for Rubio, but it’s not looking good. For Rubio, it will all come down to Florida, and even a victory in his home state – which seems like an extreme long-shot based on recent polling data – might not be enough to create a path to the Republican nomination for the Florida Senator.

Rubio, a longtime opponent of most forms of gambling, first jumped on the online gambling ban bandwagon in 2015, when he co-sponsored the Senate version of RAWA along with fellow presidential candidate Lindsey Graham – Graham also sponsored the 2014 version of RAWA.

However, Rubio seems to have some reservations about RAWA in its current form. In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board in October, the presidential hopeful drew a clear distinction between traditional games of chance and poker, telling the LVRJ, “On the issue of Internet poker, the only difference between the poker games and the others is that it involves an element of skill associated with and compared with just a slot machine online.”

This position, or even entertaining a poker carveout would put Rubio at odds with the RAWA’s primary supporter, Sheldon Adelson. “There is no carve-out from the bill’s sponsors,” Las Vegas Sands Senior Vice President of Government Relations Andy Abboud told the LVRJ. “There may be some varying opinions from the co-sponsors, but there really isn’t any push for it.”

And then there was one

A lot of the presidential candidates on the Republican side who most people felt would be highly likely to sign an online gambling bill into law, but there were five (six including Rubio) candidates who made no bones about it, publicly supporting the proposed online gambling ban.

Yet, despite so many vocal advocates for the ban, not a single candidate brought it up during the debates, nor did they bring it up on the campaign trail. A clear indication that either the issue was way down on their priority list, or they were well aware that supporting a federal prohibition (infringing on states’ rights) wouldn’t play very well to their constituents.

George Pataki

George Pataki was one of the most vocal proponents of RAWA who ran for president, as he was a national co-chair of the lobby group, the Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling, that was formed by Adelson for the sole purpose of shutting down online gambling in the United States.

Pataki’s campaign never gained any traction, as the former New York Governor was always within the margin of error of having zero support in  the polls.

Mike Huckabee

Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee never specifically lobbied for RAWA or an online gambling ban, but he certainly made his feelings on the issue known when CSIG co-chair appeared on his Huckabee show on FOX News to discuss the need for an online gambling ban, with the two taking turns exaggerating and mischaracterizing the issue.

Huckabee, who had modest support when he ran for president in 2012, was a non-factor throughout the presidential campaign, and was one of the first to drop out of the race.

Bobby Jindal

Former Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal once penned a questionable op-ed supporting an online gambling ban, but has been relatively quiet on this front ever since.

Jindal, once thought of as a rising star in Republican politics, was a complete non-factor in the presidential race.

Rick Perry

Like Jindal, former Texas Governor also took up pen and paper to support an online gambling ban in 2014. And like Jindal, Perry’s political star also appears to have burned out rather quickly, as he basically picked up in 2016, where he left off in his atrocious run for president in 2012.

Lindsey Graham

South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has been the point man for RAWA in the U.S. Senate, but despite his numerous attempts to make the issue resonate, his attempts to lobby for RAWA have mirrored his futile run for president.

RAWA going through its death throes

On top of RAWA being the binding issue of failed presidential campaigns, the bill itself appears to be on its last legs, as even RAWA supporters are coming to the conclusion that the measure simply doesn’t have enough support to be viable, and are now shifting to a new position.

While Adelson (according to Abboud) was unwilling to even entertain the idea of carveouts in 2015, it now appears he’d jump at the opportunity, unfortunately, it also appears that ship has already sailed.

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