What will American leader Donald Trump’s impact be on the American gambling industry? The jury’s still out, but figures in the gambling world aren’t taking any chances and are bringing their cases directly to the leader himself.
Evidence of this emerging phenomena emerged this weekend in the form of stories of New Jersey politicians making a plea for Trump to protect the US online gambling business. Another report, from Gambling911, suggests that right-wing activist/sports handicapper Wayne Allen Root will be taking the case for legal sports betting directly to Trump and his cabinet.
In New Jersey, Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo is putting forth a measure that would formally ask Trump to protect online gambling in his state. Mazzeo was deeply concerned after Trump’s nominee for Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, suggested that he would be open to revisiting the 2011 suspension of the Wire Act by the President Obama’s administration.
That Mazzeo would make this plea directly to Trump, rather than to the lawmakers over at the House of Congress, speaks volumes. Though, given the fact that billionaire Sheldon Adelson threw plenty of cash at Trump-affiliated super-PACs and is adamantly opposed to online gambling, maybe the message is short and sweet.
Wayne Allan Root, a sports handicapper turned pundit, speaks volumes about all kinds of things and is getting ready to bend Trump’s ear on the subject of sports betting. Root, who claims to be in communication with Trump, said that he would write an op-ed on the subject and send to directly to Trump. (Trump gets much of his information in the form of clipping files that are curated by his staff.)
While the travails of a single industry may seem trivial in the face of issues like the worldwide refugee crisis, Trump’s reactions will speak volumes about who has his ear and how much influence they’ve really got.