IS KYL’S VIEW OF ONLINE POKER CHANGING?
Written On 4.29.11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer Jennifer Jearu :
Antagonistic Senator may be considering yet another legislative carve-out…for online poker.
Who would have thunk it? The possibility that online gambling’s arch-enemy in the US political system, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, may be considering the legalization of online poker!
That's what his latest website update suggests; in a lengthy overview of his latest strategies and opinions at http://kyl.senate.gov/legis_center/crime.cfm, the Senator appears to be suggesting the possibility of yet another legislative carve-out applied to internet gambling….this one for online poker.
The complicated laws in the United States already have specific "exemptions" (carve outs) for online gambling on fantasy games, horse racing and state lotteries, something that has worked against the United States in its World Trade Organisation disputes with Antigua (see previous InfoPowa reports).
Now it appears that the Senator, who was one of the principal drivers of the UIGEA legalization, may be re-thinking his position amidst the furore created by recent Department of Justice actions against major online poker sites.
Here's what the Senator has to say about the issue:
"I have opposed efforts to legalize Internet gambling in the past because evidence suggests that it fosters problems unlike any other forms of gambling. Online players can gamble 24 hours a day from home; children can play without sufficient age verification; and betting with a credit card can undercut a player’s perception of the value of cash – leading to possible addiction and, in turn, bankruptcy, crime, and even suicide.
"Efforts to carve out an exception for games like poker, which many believe is a game of skill, may be considered later this year. Until I have the chance to review them, I cannot make a judgment about their merits; but I will consider them carefully as long as they leave in place the broader proscriptions against online betting."
The Senator observes that as technology evolves so too must the law.
"New media like the Internet can provide a wealth of information and opportunity to those who use it with good intentions. But it can also present new opportunities for those who would use it to prey on their fellow citizens," he comments.
