Senator John Kyl of Arizona is recommending that authorities work faster to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Kyl is a well-known supporter of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and in fact was one of its architects. Thanks to Senator Bill Frist infamously inserting it into a must pass piece of legislation, the UIGEA became law. Kyl is afraid that the UIGEA will never be implemented, as a recent Congressional hearing exposed the UIGEA’s flaws and pressure is growing to scrap the UIGEA.
Senator Kyl is an ultraconservative senator who is well versed in political maneuvering. Several instances have been noted where Kyl has been pulling the strings from the shadows to get things done while other colleagues in the senate have advanced his own views. He has even had other members of the senate propose controversial bills that he and his staff have written. His subterfuge has helped him get things done in the senate, and the UIGEA is a prime example of his abilities and tenacity.
In the Congressional hearing, representatives from the financial sector and the Federal Reserve stated that the UIGEA is an unworkable extremely flawed piece of legislation, as it would require financial institutions to act as a police force and determine what is and isn’t illegal, as the UIGEA fails to define what an illegal transaction is. Financial Institutions will be risk-adverse in wanting to avoid prosecution by federal authorities, and this will place an unneeded burden upon them and cause problems for a financial sector whose resources could be better used elsewhere.
Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, an adamant detractor of the UIGEA, introduced his own bill into Congress that would overthrow the UIGEA by imposing regulation instead of prohibition. He and several other Congresspersons have said that the implementation fo the UIGEA should be halted as it is clearly unworkable and motions have already been set forth to repeal the UIGEA.
Senator Kyl refuses to acknowledge the UIGEA’s flaws, and in a statement concentrated only on the fact that it is a law, saying, “The people who are violating the law need to know that they’re not going to be able to get away with it and I think that the failure to get these regulations promulgated on time has perhaps given some hope and it’s given life even to an idea over in the House of Representatives to put a moratorium on the regulations.” Kyl is giving the UIGEA his all, despite the irrationality of doing so.
Senator Kyl has repeatedly stated that he will oppose all efforts to modify or halt the implementation of the UIGEA. His main opposition is Barney Frank who in his own statements has called the Unlawful Gambling Enforcement Act “The stupidest law ever passed.”
