On Tuesday, the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing entitled “The State of Online Gaming.” Serving as one of the six witnesses for the nearly two-hour long debate was Andrew Abboud, Vice President of Government Relations and Community Development for the Las Vegas Sands Corporation. If you regularly read PocketFives, you’ll know that Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson is leading a multi-million dollar crusade against online gambling.

“Internet gambling takes gambling too far,” Abboud said in his testimony. “We would like Congress to restore the Wire Act and shut down illegal online gambling sites. It can be done. It needs to be done… They want to turn every [cell phone] into a casino with unlimited access. Simply because we can doesn’t mean we should… The thought of a 50-state solution is scary. Don’t make a race to the bottom of the marketplace. Restore the Wire Act and protect consumers.”

Abboud continued to assault proponents of legalized and regulated online poker and internet gambling, saying that state-by-state online gaming is nothing more than a ruse to provoke Congress into legalizing the industry on a nationwide scale: “You can get into a long technological discussion about getting minors involved. I have seen the technological demonstrations. I think they represent a barrier to market. For the industry to go state-by-state to try to scare Congress into acting was probably the worst bluff in the history of poker.”

Much of Abboud’s contention centered on a December 2011 Justice Department interpretation of the Wire Act saying that the law only applied to online wagering on sports. Therefore, other forms of gaming like poker and slots were likely legal. According to Abboud and others, a future Justice Department could overturn the newest interpretation, leading to what could be an intense court battle.

Let’s get to the hypocrisy comment, which came from Ranking Member Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). She read marketing materials from the Venetian in Las Vegas, a Sands property, that touted mobile casino wagering and a mobile sports betting app, the latter of which could be used anywhere in Nevada. She told Abboud that given the Venetian’s advertising and his strong stance against web betting, “It feels to me a little hypocritical.”

Congressman Joe Barton (R-TX, pictured), who has sponsored legislation to legalize and regulate online poker in the United States (HR 2666), also called Abboud out, leading to the following response from the Sands rep: “It’s all about human interaction. You have the right to eyeball me and determine whether I am telling the truth. It doesn’t happen with a lot of online gaming. It’s also about location. You have to go up to the cage, fill out an application, and have a conversation.”

Abboud later clarified that Sands is opposed to all forms of online gaming, despite the Venetian’s plentiful mobile opportunities, and explained that the day the Wire Act was clarified is “not the day the internet became safe. This is a play to the youth of America and this is going to be our ‘Joe Camel moment.’ If we do not behave responsibility, it could be the demise of our industry. To go forward would be irresponsible.”

According to the Venetian’s website, the casino recently added slots themed for Aladdin, The Wizard of Oz, and Clue, all of which could be interpreted as being targeted at America’s youth. Its mobile gaming software, which Cantor Gaming powers, touts, “Is there anything you can’t do on a smartphone or tablet nowadays? You can even play from your room!“

Other Sands properties include Sands Bethlehem in Pennsylvania and Palazzo in Las Vegas.

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