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The man who co-authored a bill to prohibit online poker, Arizona Republican Senator Jon Kyl, has shown time and time again he will remain steadfast in his position that online gambling (Internet poker included) is the "crack cocaine" of gambling. Kyl is also reportedly influenced by the professional sports leagues so it might come as little surprise that poker groups like the Poker Players Alliance would at least try to work directly with the Senator in having an exemption for online poker as part of the controversial Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act (UIGEA).
The enforcement is set to commence June 1 whereby banks will be required to stop specified money transactions related to some forms of online gambling. But as an unfunded mandate, the financial institutions will have a tough time differentiating between the so-called "good" transactions like horse racing (carved out) and the "bad" one's (online poker). The guideline only apply to money in and not payouts (i.e. gamblers attempting to open accounts with their bank issued credit cards may run into problems).
John Pappas of the PPA told Poker News Daily: "The PPA is going to submit a petition seeking that peer-to-peer games be excluded from the final promulgation of the UIGEA rules. We need to get Jon Kyl to agree to this revision. It wouldn't seek to delay the law, but it would clearly exempt poker and pari-mutuel dog and horse racing."
Enforcement of the UIGEA has already been delayed for 6 months and another bill seeks to delay implementation for yet another year.
Meanwhile, it was revealed on Monday that one of the world's largest online poker rooms, Full Tilt Poker, is reportedly under investigation by a Manhattan Federal Grand Jury.
Ace King, Gambling911.com
