Home / Poker News July 2011 / The Poker Grapevine – Kyl and Reid Join Forces to Achieve What?
The Poker Grapevine – Kyl and Reid Join Forces to Achieve What?
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2011-07-25 09:31
For most online poker players and industry interests, Senators John Kyl and Harry Reid have always represented the opposite ends of the spectrum. Kyl – a Republican - has been legal online poker’s most notorious opponent ever since the 2006 UIGEA. Reid on the other hand – a Democrat – has become US poker players’ best friend when he attempted to push through an online poker bill last year. Even though he failed, most
online poker interests still look at Reid as the lawmaker from whom a possible solution regarding the legal status of online poker in the US may still come from.
It was therefore quite a bit surprising when the two above named Senators submitted a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder asking him to clarify the DoJ’s position on the matter of online gambling.
In the letter, Kyl and Reid seemed to focus on the DoJ’s position on intra-state lotteries, which – in their opinion – constitutes online gambling the same way online casino gambling does.
The two senators have also asked Holder to consult with Congress before altering the DoJ’s position on the matter in any way. They also offered to help the DoJ fight internet gambling and they proposed stronger penalties for companies that break the law.
The letter left the
online poker community wondering what the true intentions behind it were. Pessimists think that Harry Reid has suddenly switched sides and that online poker has just lost another potentially powerful supporter.
Optimists, among them the editorial staff of the Vegas Sun, are convinced however that not much has in fact changed in Sen. Harry Reid’s position regarding online poker, and that the letter he had concocted with online poker’s staunchest opponent may signal the prelude to a bill that Kyl would not necessarily oppose.
If that is indeed the case, it’ll be interesting to see how the battle over the future of online poker in the US unfolds.
