The passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act has been criticized from the first moment, when it was passed as part of the unrelated Port Security Act. The motivation to ass it was clad with suspicion, especially for allowing some forms of gambling while banning others.

Could the UIGEA have come to protect the Las Vegas monopoly?

In breaking news reported yesterday at popular newspaper and political sites (The New York Daily News and The Huffington Post) it was said that Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani has used casino kingpin Sheldon Adelson’s private jet to taxi him across the United States on his campaign.

Giuliani is said to have saved more than $122,000 last summer alone by accepting this favor from the person who owns the Las Vegas Sands empire.

The specific details are the following: The Sands' Interface Operations LLC provided a Gulfstream G-IV corporate jet to the Republican frontrunner in late August and early September, records show. Some estimate the value of this service to be modest, in fact.

Giuliani’s ties with the Las Vegas establishment bring to mind another Republican Presidential candidate, Ron Paul, who supports the legalization and regulation of online gambling. Their party has been the one pushing for the ban in past years and generally avoids discussing it in their debates.

The Sands is also reported to be working on the development of an online casino, their first step onto this new and contemporary mode of gambling, that will cater to the UK and not the US, naturally.