Is Democratic Party’s Manifesto Encouraging for Online Gambling Lobbyists?

While the US Republican Party explicitly expressed its opposition to the possibility of legalized online gambling, the US Democratic Party's manifesto released this week is different – it appears to neglect or ignore the issue. Now, whether this means the party is pro or neutral about the issue, is at present not known, but this silence is widely interpreted as a hopeful sign. One of the people who read this between the lines was Poker Players Alliance executive director John Pappas, who also noted that many members of the party supported the concept of legalized online poker. Two senior Nevada Democrats expressed support to the legalization, preferring a federal solution to a state-by-state one. The two are Dean Heller and Shelley Berkeley, of whom the latter underlined: "I will continue to lead efforts and work with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle toward a solution that would allow legalized Internet gaming across the country." It was also stated by a spokesman for senior Democrat politician Senator Harry Reid that the Senator "...believes legalizing online poker remains important for Nevada and he will continue to work on this issue." However, there's a ray of hope among Republicans as well - Nevada's Republican governor, Brian Sandoval who actually stands opposite to his party's manifesto clause against internet gambling, and who stated that the policy will not deter the state from continuing to pursue its safe and secure online poker legalization initiative by the end of this year. Sandoval's position received the support of Nevada Gaming Control Board chairman Mark Lipparelli, who said that lawmakers are uninformed and do not realize that online gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry, whose ban represents a poor strategy and a denial of reality. Furthermore, it was learned from a Democratic Party source that Republican support for the much discussed and reported Reid-Kyl legalisation attempt was weak. Further developments are expected and will be closely followed.