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Rep. Stephen Sandstrom leads charge in Utah against online gambling28 December 2011SALT LAKE CITY, Utah -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- UT Rep. Stephen Sandstrom, who is a candidate running for U.S. Congress in Utah's new 4th district, announced today he has already drafted a bill that prohibits online gambling in Utah as a response to proposed legislation in the U.S. Congress to legalize online gambling unless states proactively opt out. The bill is even more significant due to yesterday's ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice that states may legalize online gambling. This bill is a referendum on the DOJ's decision and some in the U.S. Congress such as Senate Leader Harry Reid to proliferate online gambling. If approved by lawmakers in 2012, Utah's new anti-online gambling bill will amend HB 104, Alcoholic Beverage Licensees and Gambling-like Activities, a bill Rep. Sandstrom led through the legislature that became law in 2007. Prior to HB 104, Utah was vulnerable to Indian casinos due to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. HB 104 closes the loophole created by federal law and makes it impossible for Indian casinos to come to the state of Utah. "We want to keep Utah free from the negative impacts of legalized gambling," said Sandstrom. "Without courageous leadership to block Internet gaming, Utah could once again be forced to allow Indian casinos." The Christian Science Monitor's Patrik Jonsson recently reported that global online gambling is now worth an estimated $30 billion, with online poker worth a potential $6 billion annually in the United States. Additionally, many gambling critics see the DOJ's recent interpretation as another major crack in America's moral foundation. Utah is one of only two states including Hawaii that does not allow legalized gambling. "The U.S. Department of Justice's conveniently issued legal opinion is a desperate attempt to try and fix today's recessive economy. It's clear that President Obama's fiscal policies have been a complete failure," said Sandstrom. "This latest move by the DOJ will only serve to harm all Americans economically and socially in the long-run." Earl L. Grinols, a distinguished professor of economics at Hankamer School of Business at Baylor University, explained recently in a New York Times Op-Ed that people generally don't embezzle from their employer, commit suicide or murder over a lost tennis game, though they do over their gambling losses. "The gambling industry profits from the vulnerabilities of its customers and opens the way for states to become further dependent upon tax revenues gained from a form of recreation that hits hardest those who can least afford it," Sandstrom continued. "Improving the U.S. economy will only occur through commonsense fiscal policy led by a president who understands the private sector. "This move by the DOJ is just more Obama Administration showboating and will only serve to expand federal government."
Rep. Stephen Sandstrom leads charge in Utah against online gambling
is republished from Online.CasinoCity.com.
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