The National Council of Legislators form Gaming States (NCLGS) has become the latest organisation in the US to oppose new anti-online gambling legislation.

As reported by iGaming Business, Senators Lindsay Graham and Jason Chaffetz are sponsoring new legislation to restore the US Wire Act in order to outlaw all forms of online gambling, with the exception of fantasy games and horseracing.

If the legislation were to be passed, it would reverse a 2011 decision by Attorney General Eric Holder that a 1961 law used to ban online gaming was only applicable to sports betting.

The NCLGS has now joined the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries, the Coalition for Consumer and Online Protection, and the National Conference of State Legislatures in voicing its opposition of the legislation.

Jim Waldman, president of the NCLGS and Representative for the US state of Florida, wrote to members of the US Senate and the House of Representatives to explain his opposition.

"This legislation, proposing to amend the Wire Act to prohibit transmission of wagering information for all types of gambling activities, including Internet gambling, would effectively preempt the states' historical ability to properly regulate gaming," Waldman said in the letter.

"It is our strong conviction, as legislators who chair and are members of the legislative committees that work diligently to develop sound public gaming policy, that states are the most appropriate entity to decide upon, and oversee, what kind of gaming should exist and what should not within their borders.

"States have the expertise, developed over many years of experience, to oversee gaming for the best outcomes to the states and their consumers.

"We assert that each state can and should determine what will best reflect and serve the needs of its residents."

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