Internet gambling prohibitionists three times more likely to lose reelection bids
Members of the House of Representatives who supported H.R. 4411, the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, were nearly three times more likely to lose reelection bids in Tuesday's mid-term elections, while those who cosponsored H.R. 5474, which looked to form a commission to study the Internet gambling industry, were three times more likely to return to office in reelection campaigns.
Only two members of the House who voted against H.R. 4411 lost reelection bids, while at least 20 Congressmen who voted for the bill lost in reelection campaigns. Ten Congressmen who voted for the bill, which requires U.S. financial institutions to block transactions to Internet gambling sites, are still awaiting final election results in their districts.
At least 7.0 percent of the Congressmen who voted for the restrictive legislation lost reelection bids, while just 2.6 percent of those who voted against the legislation and faced an opponent in the election lost on Election Day.
Conversely, only 2.6 percent of those who cosponsored H.R. 5474 and faced an opponent on Election Day were ousted from office, while at least 6.3 percent of those who did not cosponsor the legislation are now looking for jobs.
A full breakdown of the numbers follows below:
| H.R. 4411 Vote | Reelected | Lost in election | Did not run for reelection | Race still undetermined | Ran unopposed | Pct. lost in election | Pct. lost in election race |
| Yea | 272 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 18 | 6.6* | 7.0* |
| Nay | 86 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| No Vote | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| H.R. 5474 Cosponsor | Reelected | Lost in election | Did not run for reelection | Race still undetermined | Ran unopposed | Pct. lost in election | Pct. lost in election race |
| Yes | 48 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2.0 | 2.6 |
| No | 385 | 21 | 28 | 10 | 21 | 5.9* | 6.3* |
* Assumes all 10 races to be determined are won by incumbents.
