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With Congress set to recess for the midterm elections, Frist threw up a Doug Flutie like Hail Mary and made a truly last ditch effort, literally in the last minute.

He attached an amendment, aka the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, to the Safe Port Act and it passed.

Frist, also an MD, announced that he wouldn’t run for the 2008 presidency and return to the medicine field, but the damage to the online gambling industry was already done.

The aftermath of the UIGEA resembled fallout from a nuclear explosion. Many prominent online casinos and sports betting companies disallowed any further business from the United States and many third party payment companies followed suit.

Shares for online gaming plummeted as the once lucrative industry struggled with the sharp and unexpected punch to the stomach dealt by the UIGEA.

There is a silver lining though. Although online gambling sites were stunned by the act, some sites are actually thriving with the UIGEA, including many offshore outfits such as Pokerstars and Bodog.

Also, the midterm elections that Congress recessed for, saw a number of Republicans lose their seats and in some instances, many believe it was because of angry online gambling proponents—hello Jim Leach, or would that be goodbye Jim Leach?

The Democrats won a majority of the both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Could change be on the horizon?

But the damage dealt from the actions of the former Senate Majority Leader and an MD was the biggest story that rocked the industry in 2006. According to many proponents of online gambling, Frist’s lasting legacy is bad medicine.

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