Everyone in the industry knows that Barney Frank has proposed online gambling legislation that has already been approved in the House Finance Committee. But even Frank doesn’t not believe there is a great chance that the bill would move to the House floor before the midterm elections in November, fingers crossed for many, but no one is really holding their breath.
The question is, could Obama win votes and secure his presidency by moving online gambling legislation along federally? Assuming that he’s already losing votes and popularity, which by all accounts, given the economic climate, he probably is. But it’s still a tough question to answer, and with the Republican spin doctors always at work, it’s difficult to say whether it would help him. But there are facts to consider.
The first fact to consider is that America is on the verge of facing yet another recession, as if the first one Obama inherited from the Bush administration ever ended…Regardless, the economy still isn’t up to speed and unemployment rates are soaring. Those are the facts. Whether the previous administration is still to blame, Obama will undoubtedly take the flack for it like he does for everything else, including oil spills. The other fact is online gambling is sure to do at the very least, one major thing, that is, bring a boatload of money back into the US’s coffers. This point has been obvious for years, as billions of dollars left the US into the hands of online operators. The other thing to consider is what exactly do Americans want? Freedom to spend their money as they choose? Freedom to gamble online? We know that millions of Americans already do so, and we know that Americans love their freedom, so he could win some voters over with legalizing and regulating it. Let’s not forget the increase in jobs that will be created from legalizing online gambling on a federal level.
We shouldn’t be so naive to think that of course Obama and his advisers haven’t considered all of this. But the truth of the matter is, Obama will face strong opposition from various angles and its a process that will be far from easy. Heck, if Bush was the most highly criticized president, then Obama is the most scrutinized. The man has been under a microscope since he took office. So if anything, if not done carefully, it could even work to cost him votes and maybe even his presidency. In this case, it’s likely for Obama, that slow motion is better than no motion. Unfortunately, while the Whitehouse twiddles its thumbs, Republican victories in November could hurt the online gambling push significantly.
