Kentucky House Contingent Unites Against Online Casino Ban
With only a matter of days before the scheduled implementation of the UIGEA federal online casino ban, the six Representatives from Kentucky have united across partisan lines to ask the date be delayed. The group of four Republicans and two Democrats joined together to sign a letter to Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner requesting the implementation be put off.Many opponents had predicted that the block against online gambling payments would inadvertently affect other gaming industries, and the prophecy has held true. State lotteries in North Dakota and New Hampshire have been unable to process Internet sales, and now the horse racing industry finds online horse betting impaired by companies trying to comply with the problematic law.
The latest development, which led the Kentucky Representatives to echo an earlier letter from nineteen Congressmen, is Mastercard deciding to bar transactions using the code for horse race betting, even though the UIGEA gives racing an exemption. Card companies, unfamiliar and nervous about the policy of determining who gets approved, have chosen to err on the side of caution, hurting Kentucky-based gambling.
John Pappas of the Poker Players Alliance told Poker News that "this letter cites a specific incident where overblocking occurred, so I think that could be particularly powerful with the organizations (Treasury and Federal Reserve Board)."
Two lawmakers known for their anti-gambling screed, Senator Jon Kyl and Representative Spencer Bachus, demanded in a letter that the Treasury adhere to the schedule for the online casino ban. But that still leaves twenty-five bipartisan supporters of a delay to two hardcore demagogues insisting on an implementation that clearly could be a mistake.
