UIGEA Prospects under new Attorney General

Jon Kyl is back at it once again. Just when you thought the vehemently anti-online gambling Senator was off his soapbox and quieting down, he's making some noise once again and putting pressure on incumbent Attorney General, Eric Holder. As Holder undergoes his appointment hearing, which many would say is more like a grilling session, Jon Kyl is making some direct inquiries regarding the bill he helped author and pass to make online gambling illegal in the U.S.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is the piece of legislation, or should I say "law", which seeks to strong-arm financial institutions into blocking transactions made for online gambling purposes. Having been passed into law as buried attachment to a green-lighted port security bill, the UIGEA now faces great difficulty in the enforcement stage. In fact, that's what Kyl wanted to hear the prospective Attorney General say he'll do - enforce the UIGEA.

And while Holder said he would indeed do so (which many people speculate was just to placate Kyl), the real problem is that the UIGEA is a flawed law and that enforcement is highly impractical. Not providing any framework for how to block transactions, the financial sector has been left with an overwhelming burden., which it has been quite vocal about to say the least. By the looks of things, no progress is being made, and all the while, U.S. citizens continue to gamble at online casinos, poker rooms, sportsbooks, bingo rooms and even rummy card rooms.
Understandably, Kyl has worked hard to get the UIGEA passed into law, and would not want to see all of his efforts go to waste. Perhaps he even thinks that banning online gambling will be his legacy. Faced with doubts about the effectiveness of his legislation, Kyl even spearheaded "midnight drop" add-ons to the UIGEA hoping these would make it more efficient at blocking financial transactions with online casinos. Kyl even pressed Holder whether he would seek to enforce these midnight regulations.

The fact of the matter, however, is that questions like these hold no weight. Once Holder makes it through the appointment hearing - and it's very likely he will - and is appointed Attorney General, he can basically do whatever he wants with the UIGEA. And while the Attorney General should be fully independent of the President, considering these hard economic times and an Obama budget that will likely call for more government funding, the prospects of actually overturning the UIGEA and regulating online gambling still looks good.

That statement is far less than accurate. The UIGEA is a law, enacted by Congress and only Congress, through modification or revocation, and the President, through signature or veto, have the power to change or revoke the law. Technically, the Attorney General has to enforce the law, whether he/she agrees with it or not. How zealously they pursue that enforcement may be up to them, but enforce it they must as long as it is on the books.

Still got to get 218+ Representatives and 51 Senators to vote to revoke, modify or otherwise deal with this piece of crap legislation. Go to the Poker Players Alliance Congressional Rating website [http://www.congressionalpoker.org/] and check out your congresscritters (might also join up while you are there ). If they are pro-poker, encourage them to keep up the good work. If they are anti- or uncommitted, rag on them. You would be surprised how much effect even a small "flood" of emails can have on one of these creatures. After all, Job #1 for them for the next 2-6 years is to get re-elected.