Gambling: Is Jon Kyl Punishing the US Treasury

1/12/10 - Incredible as it may seem in these challenging financial times, the United States Treasury still lacks an Under Secretary of the Treasury...and critics are blaming it on Internet gambling's arch-foe, Arizona Senator Jon Kyl.

While the accusation remains unconfirmed, the publication National Journal claims that Kyl is holding up appointments for officials in key international finance and tax offices....and incredible as it may seem, this may be due to his disappointment that the ban on Internet financial transactions with online gambling companies has not been implemented.

Kyl was a major driver of the UIGEA legislation rammed through Congress in 2006 on the coat tails of an unrelated security law, and he has since fiercely opposed successful attempts to delay the regulations supporting the controversial law until mid-2010.

The political manouevreing of the Senator from Arizona around the confirmation of nominees to work at the Treasury Department has drawn major criticism from both liberals and conservatives, the National Journal reports.

Confirmation of the disquiet the appointment delays are causing comes in the comments of ex-head of the Federal Reserve, Paul Volcker, who is quoted as saying on a talk-show: “Here we are on December 29, almost a year after the [Obama presidential] Inauguration, and there is no Under Secretary of the Treasury.

"How can we run a government in the middle of a financial crisis without doing the ordinary, garden-variety administrative work of filling the relevant agencies?”

B3W's white label poker growing - 02/03/2012 : Online poker software developer B3W's venture into the white label poker market with an all-inclusive product has paid dividends, according to the company, which this week reported that in six months four fully integrated poker rooms had been signed up for its Poker Pack Network.

Betfair public affairs manager speaks out for regulated online gambling - 02/03/2012 : Tom Tuxworth, public affairs manager for the listed British online betting group Betfair, told a South African parliamentary portfolio committee studying the possible legalisation of online gambling that prohibition only drives would-be internet punters to offshore and unregulated websites.

Suzan Smith, problem gambler blows 400k of bosses money - 02/03/2012 : A compulsive online gambler who stole almost GBP 400 000 from her employer was sent to jail in Norfolk, UK this week after a judge criticised her for stealing not only the money but a part of a decent man's life.

NEW IPAD APP FROM BETFAIR - 02/03/2012 : Betfair plc launched its next generation iPad App into the Apple store Friday, announcing that the bespoke native application is a marked enhancement from previous products and is the first to come out of Betfair’s development office in San Francisco

Boxing behind Betfair's latest sponsorship - 02/03/2012 : Betfair is the newest title sponsor of the Matchroom Sport Prizefighter series in a partnership deal that will deliver the online betting exchange branding rights across the ring and provide its customers with expert analysis and in-depth fighter interviews.