Sheldon Adelson, the world’s richest casino executive and chief of the industry’s largest publicly traded company, says he opposes online gambling because he doesn’t believe available technology is good enough to prevent young people from making wagers on the Internet, a spokesman said yesterday.

Adelson’s opposition is a personal viewpoint, not a formal stance taken by Las Vegas Sands, the company that runs casino-resorts in Las Vegas, Macau, Singapore and Bethlehem, Pa., spokesman Ron Reese said.

Reese says Adelson hasn’t talked with the company’s board about his position, and the board hasn’t formally decided on a strategy on online gambling.

“It’s a personal observation of concerns about technology,” Reese said.

The opposition comes as other operators, including Caesars Entertainment and MGM Resorts International, have backed an industry push to legalize online poker and let established casinos offer it in the US. Poker, which involves elements of skill and luck, has been illegal online for real money since 2006.

Frank Fahrenkopf, CEO of the American Gaming Association, said he met with Adelson on Monday and Adelson told him he’ll oppose legislation to legalize online poker in the US.