US Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has announced he will not seek re-election in 2016, leaving gambling proponents mourning the loss of a key ally.

Reid, who first won election to the Senate in 1987, made the announcement in a video released early Friday morning. The 75-year-old Reid said his decision had “nothing to do” with the fall he suffered earlier this year in which he broke several ribs, facial bones and temporarily left him without the sight of his right eye. However, the downtime had given him the opportunity to reassess his situation and his conclusion was it’s time to hang up his spurs.

American Gaming Association CEO Geoff Freeman issued a statement calling Reid a “tireless supporter of gaming who solidified Nevada and the industry’s significance across the country.” Freeman said Reid had been “a visionary for what could be possible” and his “leadership and dedication will be missed.”

It remains to be seen what impact Reid’s decision will have on the likelihood of passage of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA), the Sheldon Adelson-backed federal legislation that would ban most forms of online gambling except horseracing, fantasy sports and the types of closed-loop on-premise mobile gambling available in some US brick-and-mortar casinos.