Sheldon Adelson, chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, has reiterated his opposition to online gaming, claiming that internet gambling “cannot be regulated.”
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Betty Liu, Adelson was strong on opinion and offered plenty of rhetoric but did not display a detailed understanding of the online gaming industry.
He likened online gambling to “sin” and said “sin activity should be controlled,” drawing comparisons with prostitution and drug addiction.
“There is no compelling reason to put a casino in everybody’s pocket,” Adelson told Liu, adding that vulnerable people, such as the unemployed and those in debt, can be “easily exploited and incentivised to go on the internet and gamble.”
Adelson asserted that people from those social groups weren’t likely to visit his land-based casinos as they were “too poor.”
When asked who is to say that it is exploitative to give those who do not or cannot attend land-based venues the opportunity to gamble online, Adelson replied: “I’m saying and I’m the biggest guy in the industry.”
“It’s too widespread,” he continued. “It exploits too many people who can’t afford it – who shouldn’t be doing it.
“I want to make money from those who can afford it.”
Questioned on how much he was willing to spend opposing online gambling, Adelson said only “as much as it takes” but wouldn’t be drawn on the sum he’d already committed to his campaign against i-gaming.
With reference to “million dollars-a-hand” high rollers as customers of his that would “never” play online, he said: “I know human nature and I know people aren’t going to play on the internet - they don’t want to do it.”
The interview can viewed here.
