As Congressman Eric Cantor‘s (pictured) shocking defeat in the primary for the Seventh District of Virginia reverberates through the political spectrum, many gambling analysts are beginning to wonder how the loss of this Sheldon Adelson-backed lawmaker will influence the future of internet gaming legislation.

In an outcome that almost no one predicted, little-known economics professor David Bratsoundly defeated the House Majority Leader. The Tea Party-backed candidate is a deeply religious, novice politician with a PhD from the Princeton Theological Seminary. He campaigned on the idea that his opponent was not sufficiently conservative and is strongly opposed to the idea of amnesty for illegal immigrants.

In one of his many earlier writings, Brat chastised the Conservative Right for championing individual liberties, yet campaigning against gambling, abortion, and homosexuality. Little is known about the candidate’s current stance on gambling.

Cantor, who had ambitions of becoming the Speaker of the House, called the defeat a “personal setback” at a news conference and announced his intention to vacate his high-level post on July 31.

Brat’s victory over the seasoned politician also comes as a blow to Adelson (pictured), who had considered Cantor one of his most effective proponents on Capitol Hill. The anti-online gambling magnate has sunk at least $10 million in super PACs supported by the Majority Leader and the pair has worked together on issues like the anti-bribery Foreign Corrupt Practices Act reform and online gambling.

“Cantor is an important and influential voice for Adelson in forwarding agendas in the House; therefore, the upset in the Virginia Republican Primary could imply a setback in initiatives including Adelson’s fight to push down online gaming,” said Union Gaming Group analyst Robert Shore.

The 80-year-old billionaire and his Coalition to Stop Internet Gambling are said to be behind a bill introduced by Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) in March. Graham has also received funding from Adelson, but before giving his backing to the bill, had never held a strong stance on the issue. For his part, Graham defeated his opponent on Tuesday to gain his party’s nomination.

Ironically for Adelson, Chaffetz (pictured) was the last lawmaker to defeat a big-name Republican incumbent for his party’s nomination due to the issue of immigration. The pair’s bill, dubbed the Restoration of America’s Wire Act, has yet to be discussed in a hearing.

According to another gaming source, lawmakers were “spooked” by Cantor’s loss, adding that the defeat would call into question any action for or against online gambling. “If there is anything Washington hates, it’s uncertainty,” the source said.

Other sources believed that the shock of Cantor’s defeat could shelve even bigger issues, such as immigration reform, all the way through President Barack Obama’s second term. “Internet gaming pales in comparison to immigration reform,” the source said. “Not just internet poker, nothing is going to move forward in Washington.”

Adelson has continued to wage his one-man war against iGaming, asserting that the industry will exploit our society’s most vulnerable, namely the very young and the elderly. Last week, he went so far as to instruct the Sands-owned Venetian in Las Vegas to bar PokerNews journalists from reporting on a live tournament due to the website’s affiliation with online poker.