February 15 - When the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed in the United States in 2006, one of the most vocal politicians to call for an end to online gambling was Senator Jon Kyl.
Kyl became synonymous with a group of politicians on the floor who managed to sneak the UIGEA through on the back of an unconnected bill, thus placing huge obstacles in the way of US gamblers seeking to wager at online sites.
In recent years, he was linked to blocking three US Treasury appointments following a delay in implementing the UIGEA.
As such, there won't be many gamblers out there who are sorry to see the back of Senator Kyl when he leaves the Senate floor.
Kyl announced this week that he will not be seeking re-election in 2012, essentially ending his career as a US lawmaker after three terms spanning 18 years.
He is the second-ranking Republican in the US Senate and considered the leading opponent to online gambling in the US Congress.
In 2005, he said that online gambling is "so easy to do. It's so easy for kids to do. It's so addictive... Our kids have access to the internet. They're frequently not supervised and you can run up a huge debt on your folk's credit card."
It was through these type of scare tactics that Kyl managed to garner support for his anti-gambling stance.
It is hoped that now that Kyl will be leaving an empty chair, he will be replaced by someone who is more prone to consider a legalized and regulated online gambling industry.
Not everyone shares this optimism, however. One poster on 2+2 gambling forum said: "I'm probably just pessimistic, but we'll probably see another conservative (and anti-gambling) elected from Arizona anyway. Arizona has become a hotbed of conservatism lately..."
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