How Republican Presidential Candidates view Online Casinos

The United States is still in a transition period when it comes to online casinos. Three states have regulated the activity while the vast majority of the U.S. are either debating the issue or they’ve put it on the back burner.

But the Republican Presidential candidates can’t exactly ignore the issue because they’ve had to answer questions about iGaming at some point or another. And Forbes recently did a piece that shows a composite view of how GOP Presidential hopefuls view the future of online casinos. Below you can see a brief look at some candidates’ thoughts/comments on iGaming.

Donald Trump – “The Donald” insists that he won’t let money buy him, which is easier said when your net worth is $4 billion. This means that Trump is resistant to the anti-online gaming message preached by Sheldon Adelson, who’s donating millions to Republican candidates. Plus, Trump initially made his fortune through casinos and doesn’t seem to mind online gaming either.

Ben Carson – Along with Trump, Carson is a front-runner to win the GOP nomination. Unfortunately, he’s pretty conservative on many issues, and that won’t bode well for online gaming if he’s elected.

Marco Rubio – The Florida Senator is the one candidate that online-casino enthusiasts should not want to win. After all, Rubio is thought to be Adelson’s favorite, and he receives a good deal of campaign contributions from the Las Vegas Sands chairman.

Jeb Bush – Once a front-runner to compete for the GOP nomination, Bush has fallen back into the pack after several debates. Assuming Bush were to make a comeback, though, he seems largely clueless about online gambling. “I’m not a big gambler so I don’t know any gambling—does that sound stupid when you say that?,” he asked during a debate.

Ted Cruz – Cruz is a staunch opponent of the federal government violating states’ rights. What’s more is that he hates “Cronyism,” which is what Adelson’s attempt to ban online casinos through heavy funding amounts to. So at the very least, Cruz wouldn’t want a federal ban on iGaming.

Rand Paul – Much like Cruz, Paul doesn’t want the federal government deciding on this issue. “I’m opposed to restrictions on online gambling,” Paul said. “The government needs to stay out of that business.”