Senator Jon Kyl’s Diehard Opposition To Online Poker Ends

Author: Vince VanHorn

Senator Jon Kyl, one of the most vocal opponents of online poker in the country has receded from his hard stand. In a recent move that is seen as a softening of stand by the Arizona senator he has stopped opposing Treasury nominations which he thought were directly linked to the postponement of the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA). In the past he has blocked the appointment of several key Treasury nominees like Charles Collins, Marisa Lago and John Miller. The key reason for blocking the Treasury appointments was Obama administration decision to defer implementation of the UIGEA till June of this year. Senator Kyl linked the appointments to further postponement of the UIGEA. Various stakeholders are lobbying hard to ensure that there is further delay in implementing this controversial bill or even scrapping it altogether. It needs to be seen from here which direction this controversial bill takes.

The softening of stand by Senator Kyl was because of President Obama’s decision to approve pending appointments that were awaiting Senate approval. The President informed Mitch McConnel, Senate Minority Leader that pending appointments would be cleared during the Congress recess. In a bid to save face Senator Kyl approved the appointments once it became clear that he could not hold the appointment process to ransom any longer. Last week, all the three nominees were finally appointed after approval by the Senate. Senator Kyl is one of the most vocal and strong supporter of the UIGEA which completely bans Internet Gambling in the country. It is hard to imagine America without poker or more specifically without online poker. Poker is embedded in the social fabric of the country.

The appointments are seen as a major disappointment for the Arizona Senator because this was seen as one of the major achievements of his political career. His clear frustration was visible when he ultimately had to sign the approvals. Those in the know of the developments say that the Arizona Senator will get used to the idea that online poker is very much a part of the social and entertainment quotient of Americans and it would not be possible to ban it. Though the opponents and supporters of online Gaming in the United States are equally strong it needs to be seen which direction the UIGEA finally goes.

The chances of the Act falling apart seems more true than ever because the online Gaming industry if regularized in the country can bring in billions of dollars to the country’s coffers. Also, there is a strong lobby of politicians and associations who feel that online gaming will do no more harm to American society than Las Vegas. This time is critical and we are all waiting with baited breath to see the future of UIGEA after June 2010.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/online-gambling-articles/senator-jon-kyl039s-diehard-opposition-to-online-poker-ends-1963191.html

About the Author

Vince Van Horn is the Vice President of Access Corp a company which provides turnkey services for online gaming entrepreneurs. Access Corp has 2 websites which provide all information required for online gaming entrepreneurs to start their own operations. The sites are GamblingBusiness and PokerSiteCentral