Online Gambling in Politics
Harry Reid – the Senate Majority Leader – and U.S. Senator Jon Kyl – the minority whip – are actually questioning recently how the Justice Department plans to enforce the policy in relation to online gambling. In the letter written by Reid and Kyl to the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, they asked the department to go over its position again that the federal law prohibits online gambling which includes intrastate gaming that may affect lotteries.
It was also in the same letter that the two Senate leaders asked why the U.S. Attorney in New York has secured indictments against online gambling site operators after so many years without action. In addition, it was late in May when the U.S. Attorney in Baltimore unmasked other indictments. The letter they wrote implied that the lack of activity by law enforcement led to the misunderstanding and a significant increase in the perception that operating online poker, as well as other online gambling sites, did not violate U.S. laws.
It was perceived that the Department of Justice thought the case was shady enough that they chose not to pursue it during earlier phases. Kyl will retire from his office next year and recently he softened his position on the issue of internet gambling. Reid on the other hand was the architect of the federal poker bill which did not reach into becoming a law.
The content of the web post on U.S. Senator Kyl’s website may lead to opening the door for more Republican support for his legal framework with regards to internet poker. According to his statement, the efforts to carve out an exception for poker games – which many believe is a game that requires skill – may be reconsidered.
He added that until he has reviewed the considerations he cannot make any more judgments or statements but will carefully consider them. He also stated that his proposition against the legalization of online gaming previously was secondary to indications that it will foster some problems compared to other forms of gambling.
According to his statement, players can gamble 24/7 from home, and children below the legal age can play with any verification, and most of all it will undermine the value of cash which will lead to more problems such as addiction, crime, bankruptcy, or even suicide. However, both Kyl and Reid encourage the pursuit of those websites that offer illegal internet gambling aggressively and efficiently.