Caesars Interactive CEO: âSheldon Adelson is a financial bullyâ
Mitch Garber says Sheldon Adelson doesnât understand the online business but remains a serious threat
Caesars Interactive CEO Mitch Garber has labelled billionaire casino mogul and anti-egaming campaigner Sheldon Adelson a âfinancial bullyâ who doesnât understand the online gaming business. [private]
Speaking to eGR North America, Garber said his firm was âthrowing good money after badâ in order to fight Adelson and his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling.
Adelson has vowed to spend âwhatever it takesâ to bring a federal ban into force, and is believed to be behind two bills tabled in the House and Senate seeking to ârestoreâ the Wire Act and prohibit most forms of online gambling, including in the states where it is already legal and live.
âHe is a very powerful man from a financial perspective,â Garber told eGR NA.
âAt the same time, we have got two years of experience in Nevada and New Jersey, and there isnât a single allegation of money laundering, fraud, sponsorship of terrorism, anything that Sheldon Adelson is spending a fortune to convince people would be the case if online gambling remains legalized in the US.â
The threat of a federal ban is still very much present after the industry fought off attempts to pass a bill in the Lame Duck session last year.
Since losing the backing of the American Gaming Association, the internet gambling sector has lacked the clout of a coalition and has been reliant on the efforts of the Poker Players Alliance and online operators such as Caesars Interactive to throw millions of dollars at efforts to lobby lawmakers.
Read the full interview with Mitch Garber in the September issue of eGR North America, out later this week, or online here:Â //www.egr.global/northamerica/library/