The latest attempt of US senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona republican, to pass a law banning online casinos has failed. This is not Kyl's first attempt to ban online gambling. Kyl is a long-time anti-online gambling activist who seeks to change the US law to literally prohibit online gambling. This time Kyl has tried to attach his amendment to the justice department budget bill. His amendment suffered a defeat on account of irrelevance, as many democrats claimed it should appear on the Banking and Finance committee and not in an appropriation bill.
Essentially Kyl's amendment is a suggestion to require banks and credit card companies to block payments to casino operators. When a gambler plays in an online casino his winnings and losses are credited to his credit account. By blocking payments he hopes to choke the online casino industry. Kyl has been quoted of saying that the latest setback will not stop his crusade against online casinos. "We will proceed with this, it will become law at some point at some time," the Arizona Republican proclaimed on the Senate floor. "There should be no reason why we can't move forward on this."
It remains to be seen whether or not his crusade gains success, though many public representatives are beginning to question the use in it. Many claim that the billions that could be yielded from taxation are a good reason by itself to legalize online casinos.
Maria Wright, Editorial Staff. 20-09-2005