According to Republican Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, he is about to soften his stance on Internet gambling to accommodate new technology. However this brief is being geared as he prepares to leave his position in the US Senate. Therefore the fact that has softened his stance may be noted when it comes to legislation; but how much follow through can there be for online casinos and other gambling activities in the United States, with an absentee senator? In all honesty we are not really sure what the purpose of the statements on his website actually means.

Kyl, has been rabidly apposed to any efforts to legalize online gambling in the US, says on his website, that there are several subjects which need to be addresses in the next 18 months, prior to his departure. He has opened the door and had a change of heart; although in the past has been one of the biggest believers that online gambling fosters problems, like no other form of gambling activity.

In the past Kyl's stance has been that he does not believe it is right for gamblers to play games from their homes 24/7. This is obviously ok when in Las Vegas?! He has also said that he does not believe there are sufficient age verification systems in place - which leads to underage gambling. Then there is the use of the credit card for gambling online. Use of this payment method in his esteemed belief; is that it provides the owner with mis-perceptions of the value of cash? What a strange concept in a "Credit Card" driven economy where even 16 year olds are allowed to own credit cards? Apparently because spending on gambling is different as apposed to say; using all available credit buying Apple Bottom Jeans and Jimmy Choo shoes on eBay? Till now it has been his firm stance that gambling online leads to possible addiction (but not in Las Vegas); which in turn leads to crime, bankruptcy and also suicide.

So,Kyl has had some pretty strong conviction with regards to not allowing online gambling in the US! In fact it was he who was one of the main protagonists behind the promulgation of UIGEA in 2006. He has not so much expressed a change of attitude with online gambling per se, as he has with online poker. He maintains that efforts should be made to carve out exceptions for this game. Notably it was also he who used his position as a "Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight" to force President Barack Obama's administration to enact the provision of UIGEA last year in 2010. In fact he withheld consent of 6 nominated appointments to the U.S. Treasury until after the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was fully implemented.

With this having been said, Kyl' serious change of heart towards online poker before he leaves office, is more than a little bit strange in the wake of the US DOJ seizure of four of the largest online poker sites in the US. Apparently the change of mindset; now sees Kyle considering these games to be a potential source of income; rather than a social evil – go figure!?