Shift by Kyl on online poker?

[jrobb]

I was looking at Jon Kyl's website today trying to find a statement about online poker I had read in the past. I was surprised when what I could find about online gambling was this:

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.

This is a pretty seismic shift of opinion about online poker when you consider what he has said in the past:

Exempting online poker would undermine state gambling laws, making it much more difficult, if not impossible, for states to enforce their laws against gambling on online poker, and would override any policy decisions made by state legislatures.

Online poker is currently the most addictive form of gambling activity among American youth. The National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth (ages 14 to 22) over the last few years has identified rising trends in poker and Internet gambling as significant and worrisome. The research finds that online poker players are more likely to exhibit problem gambling symptoms than other types of gamblers and over half of young people who gamble on the Internet weekly display signs of problem gambling. Exempting online poker would, thus, exacerbate the two most pernicious aspects of Internet gambling: addictiveness and easy access for youth.

This is potentially a very good omen for ipoker in this legislative session. It also may indicate that the PPA message about poker (it's different than other forms of gambling) may be gaining steam in Congress.

[blink20]

Wow, thats a little beam of light.

[blutarski]

#notmeantasafactualstatement

[YoureToast]

Wow!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nice catch.

[kwansolo]

Originally Posted by blutarski

#notmeantasafactualstatement

i laughed. i cried.

[sluggger5x]

Just got some hope with that statement. If that's his actual stance than he needs to be FLOODED with letters by poker players.

[Zenzor]

Originally Posted by blink20

Wow, thats a little beam of light.

huge understatement

Kyl should be gloating about his role in passing the UIGEA, which the DOJ used to prosecute Pokerstars and FTP. Instead, this corrupt **** is admitting that perhaps his staunch position that online poker is not a game of skill is misfounded. Our biggest opponent suddenly changes sides overnight after the DOJ wipes foreign competition out of the market. ****s not right.

[ScreaminAsian]

Originally Posted by blutarski

#notmeantasafactualstatement

yeah comeon, just 4 months ago he was the MAJOR force opposing legislation that included all kinds of special provisions for problem gamblers and underage players. it benefits him to not seem inflexible, because it gives people a reason to work with him and give him a lot of what he wants. **** politics and **** this *******

[RazzSpazz]

Would be interesting to know exactly when he made those changes. Within a couple of days ago? Right after Black Friday? A month ago?

[PokerFreedom]

Has PPA contacted Kyl's office for his willingness to work with us. If he indeed softens his stand against online poker, it could be a huge momentum swing to our side.

[kwansolo]

Originally Posted by RazzSpazz

Would be interesting to know exactly when he made those changes. Within a couple of days ago? Right after Black Friday? A month ago?

*as soon as he verified int'l competitors were out of the picture

[Zenzor]

Originally Posted by PokerFreedom

Has PPA contacted Kyl's office for his willingness to work with us. If he indeed softens his stand against online poker, it could be a huge momentum swing to our side.

Obv Kyl's office will say the UIGEA was #NotMeantToBeAfactualStatement

[will1530]

Assuming he's not blowing smoke for some unknown reason, I wonder if Harry Reid and the Casino's would accept poker only legislation as a compromise?

[blink20]

This new stance on online gaming from him is taken from his website as the op says. I attempted to check out earlier versions to see when this change was made, but the most recent archived copy of the website is from 10/26/2010 and this was his statement on online gambling then:

The Federal Wire Act of 1961 made it a crime to place bets over electronic communications media, primarily communications by telephone. But, over time, the reach of the proscription extended to communications via emerging technologies, including the Internet. Internet gambling is, therefore, illegal under federal law, and runs afoul of state laws prohibiting gambling as well.

The reason that Internet gambling took hold, despite the bans, is that law enforcement capabilities were unable to keep up with the technological innovations. That's why, in 2006, Congress approved the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) to give the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, in consultation with the Justice Department, new authority to enforce the ban by blocking the flow of money to and from illegal gambling websites which operate primarily offshore. Forty-nine state attorneys general were among those who had petitioned Congress for these new tools to enforce the Internet gambling ban.

I support UIGEA to give law enforcement the tools it needs to deal with technologies that could not have been foreseen when the ban was adopted long ago. No one is entitled to circumvent a law simply because it is hard to enforce.

edit: The page is the exact same, its in his crime section, and the layout is the same, its just sometime after 10/26/2010 he changed his statement about online gaming It would be very interesting to know if that happened pre or post 4/15

[sluggger5x]

When was this statement issued? If this statement was made shortly after April 15, I might start wearing my tinfoil hat for a bit as I wonder if Kyl and Reid have been communicating regarding federal regulation.

My ignorance leads me to believe that this knockout of the market is what Kyle wanted all along if he were to allow federal regulation to slip through the Senate.


meh I can be hopeful for something right?