| Online Gambling: European Union seeks compensation from United States |
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| Written by Thomas Jensen | |||||||
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Tuesday, 19 June 2007
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 The European Union has requested compensation from the United States due to its ban on foreign online gambling sites that does not comply with global trade rules.British online gaming operators such as Party Gaming, 888 Holdings, Sportingbet PLC and Leisure & Gaming PLC were forced to leave the very lucrative U.S. market last year when Washington enacted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. UIGEA restricts financial institutions from knowingly processing internet gambling financial transactions. "We need new concessions that would be equal with the benefits lost," stated an EU official that spoker on condition of anonymity. The World Trade Organization ruled in December that UIGEA unfairly targeted foreign providers of remote gambling while allowing domestic online gambling to thrive. The European Union has joined the fight with Antigua and Barbuda in seeking compensation. The Caribbean island nation won a landmark decision in it's dispute with Washington at the WTO. After losing the case, the U.S. announced that it would take an unprecedented legal step to change the international commitments it made as part of a 1994 GATS treaty regulating the trade in services among the 150 members of the WTO. As a result, the U.S. declined to challenge the WTO ruling , because it says that its legal maneuver effectively ends the case.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 19 June 2007 ) | |||||||