Adelson casino hires Blanche Lincoln

Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) will be lobbying for Las Vegas Sands at her firm Lincoln Policy Group, according to new disclosure records.

{mosads}The casino, which is owned by billionaire and major GOP donor Sheldon Adelson, is pushing Congress to enact a ban on Internet gambling.

Lincoln and her former chief of staff, Robert Holifield, have been lobbying for the casino since Feb. 10, according to the forms.

The former senator’s firm will be working on “[l]egislation that would reinstate the policy banning Internet gambling (i.e. restore the Wire Act),” according to the form.

In January, the Adelson-backed Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling announced that Lincoln would be among its leaders, along with ex-New York Gov. George Pataki (R) and former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb (D).

In 2011, the Justice Department reversed a longtime prohibition on online gambling by saying the Wire Act of 1961 only covers sporting events and shouldn’t include Internet games. Many states are now moving to approve forms of online gambling.

Critics of online gambling, such as Adelson, say that it is a hotbed for crime.

“The FBI has said already that there is a definite threat there. It could be used for fraud and money-laundering,” Lincoln told The Hill in January, when the coalition was announced. “Our hope is that Congress calls for a timeout so they can closely consider this issue.”

Las Vegas Sands also registered with the law firm Steptoe & Johnson in February, following its former Patton Boggs lobbyist Darryl Nirenberg to his new gig.

Adelson’s casino spent $320,000 on lobbying last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, and employed two firms: Patton Boggs and Husch Blackwell.