Sheldon Adelson, notably one of the wealthiest and most politically connected of all the Jewish people, has an armament of support and character references behind him – both good and bad. For those who haven’t heard of this Forbes-100 player, he is the Founder and Chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, an American investor and political activist, the Republican parties most resilient donor and a notable philanthropist. Whether he is in the news for one of his many charitable donations or paying staff through furlough, his staunch beliefs in both Israeli and American politics or for this involvement in the political chain as an anti-online gambling advocate – he’s regularly found there.

Having helped create the CSIG (Coalition to stop Internet Gambling) and lobbied hard against online gambling in the last few years – so much so that the American Gaming Association withdraw its’ support for all known initiatives to legalise online gambling – arguably down to the pressure by Adelson and alike, his vigour is undisputed. Since the launch of New Jersey – where the predicted revenue drive of $180m wimped in at just $12m in tax revenues – even Steve Wynn conceded that it might not be worth the effort; thereby giving Adelson the impetus to continue his demand for the cessation of online gambling across all of the United States. His most recent contribution – having seen victories in many of his conquests, his backing of Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative Jason Chaffetz led to the introduction of the bipartisan Restoration of the Wire Act bill – which if passed – will make all online gambling within the United States borders illegal, whether promoted by US-partnered casinos, licensed online gambling sites or just affiliate sites peddling information about the best online casinos on offer.

But herein lies the difficulty now – to a country ravaged by the most recent epidemic and in need of generating a serious amount of revenue to close the shortfall on the trillions of dollars handed out to working and non-working Americans alike – Sheldon Adelson’s views on online gambling may be seen as a blockage to generating more gaming revenue and therefore tax. Many Americans, now finding themselves limited in numbers and viability of visiting the offline casinos, have displayed an interest in turning to online gambling and accessing dedicated portals or turning to their favourite brick and mortar casinos. Even with the 50-state rule meaning that every state dictates its’ own terms on online gambling, many states may consider this recent downturn a signal that any revenue-driving source could now be revisited as a more lucrative option that just printing new bills. 

As the 2020 elections loom and Sheldon Adelson is predicted to invest nearly $200million in his support of the Republican party, will either side work out as he plans? Should Trump be unseated from arguably the most powerful seat in the world, will Biden be as malleable to the previous decisions made under different politicians or – even if Trump managed to get re-elected to a second term – will he look to make a rapid impression to the people by opening up every tap to drive the economy forwards – including legalising online gambling among other ventures?

For now, all we can do is speculate, and keep our eyes set on the future of the industry and what might happen as next year rolls around.