This is really outrageous. William Wichterman is a former lobbyist for the National Football League – representing them as recently as March 2008. A few months ago he was appointed by the White House to the role of “Deputy Director of Public Liason”. Now, in the last days of the Bush administration, he is using his insider role to cram through flawed legislation designed to prevent Americans from gambling online. Fortunately, Democratic Congressman Steven Cohen is taking notice:

Last week, Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) asked White House Counsel Fred Fielding to detail what role Deputy Director of Public Liaison William Wichterman played in the Treasury Department’s decision to send the proposed rule to the Office of Management and Budget for final review on October 20. In a November 7 letter to Mr. Fielding, Rep. Cohen said he had been told that Mr. Wichterman “has been a source of considerable political pressure to speed this regulation through.” The letter further stated, “The National Football League has been among the most vocal advocates for the proposed rule and the underlying law. I am sure you will agree that, at a minimum, the appearance of a conflict of interest is undeniable.”

This political influence peddling comes despite a commitment by the Bush Administration not to issue final regulations after November 1, 2008 except in “extraordinary circumstances.” Fortunately there are some signs that the incoming Obama administration will repeal this and other midnight hour legislative shenanigans once coming into office (props to Online Casino Advisory):

The Washington Post reported today that President-elect Obama’s team is preparing a list of regulations and policies being put in place in the waning days of the Bush administration. Any regulations that are being imposed for “overtly political” reasons stand to be swiftly withdrawn.

I’m hopeful that the new administration will take a new view towards online gambling. According to Online Casino News, there is reason to be optimistic:

According to inside sources, the President-Elect has very strong opinions on how the internet should be governed, if at all. Obama, when President, expects to ‘ensure the full and free exchange of ideas through an open Internet and diverse media outlets.’

Listing goals, the site says, ‘Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.’

Be sure to check out the original article on Wichterman at Marketwatch. There is also a well-written opinion piece on the issue over at the Las Vegas Review Journal.