Adelson Apparently Donates Illegally to the Reelection Campaign of Pennsylvania Governor

Adelson allegedly donates nearly$1 million to Corbett’s reelection campaign

According to Keystone Progress, Sheldon Adelson, the Chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, has allegedly donated about $1 million to the reelection campaign of Tom Corbett, the Pennsylvania Governor. However, the donation is reported to be illegal. Earlier this year Adelson said he would do whatever it takes to prevent the legalization of online gambling and crash the online casino industry in the United States.

Keystone Progress board advisor Nathan Sooy filed a complaint three days ago with the Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board over the illegal donation made to Corbett by Sheldon Adelson. In the press release he says:

“The Republican Governors Association and Adelson both say the donation was made mistakenly, but the intent is irrelevant” said Sooy. “The Republican Governors Association Pennsylvania PAC received the money directly from Adelson. That is money that went directly and illegally to Corbett and the Pennsylvania Republican Party.”

About the Illegal Donation

According to the press release, the Republican Governors Association Pennsylvania PAC claims that it has returned the donation, but there are a lot of questions about the communication that has taken place between Adelson and the reelection campaign of Governor Corbett. In addition, there is doubt whether the RGA has given the money back to Adelson.

Allegedly, Adelson donated a total of $987,444 in December 31, 2013 and Sooy is asking for a fine of $1.3 million. Even though the fine seems a lot to some people, it is apparently a pocket change for Adelson whose net worth was estimated at $15 billion last year. The corporation of Adelson owns and operates Sands Casino Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, a US state that is considering the legalization of iGaming within the state boarders. In fact, earlier this month the House and the Senate announced that they planning on introducing a bill that would legalize online gaming in Pennsylvania. It is believed that the influence of Adelson could derail any bill in Pennsylvania from a financial point of view.

As of this writing, there are no comments from Corbett, Sands Bethlehem and the Gaming Control Board.

What Sheldon Adelson Wants

Adelson, one of America’s top 10 richest people, is determined to stop the legalization of online gambling in the United States and has hired layers and lobbyists to convince the congress to ban online gambling nationwide. Since he represents Sands Corporation, the largest company in the gambling industry in the US, he believes that he has moral right to speak out on this issue and sees no reason why the government should allow its residents to play casino games on the Internet.

Adelson believes that online gambling is harmful for the land based casino industry in the US and it would destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs. He also believes that Internet gambling would harm children and economically vulnerable Americans who would see online gambling as a way to get out of their debts. Sands Corporation also runs the Venetian and Palazzo in Las Vegas.