| Online Gambling: WTO rules against US Internet Gambling Ban |
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| Written by Thomas Jensen | |||||||
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Friday, 30 March 2007
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 The World Trade Organization released the official 215 page report declaring that the United States failed to change legislation that unfairly targets online gambling websites. While the news is a victory for Antigua and the rest of the internet gambling community, the reality of the situation is that the ruling won't have an immediate impact on the $15 billion industry."It vindicates all that we have been saying for years about the discriminatory trade practices of the US in this area, and we look forward to the US opening its markets," commented Antiguan Finance Minister Errol Cort. Offshore gambling firms have long contested that the US move is simply protectionism. The WTO agreed and stated the United States could only block such websites if its laws were equally applied to domestic firms that offer other forms of internet gambling such as remote betting on horse racing. "The compliance panel did not agree with the United States that we had taken the necessary steps to comply with the WTO recommendations," said Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for the office of the U.S. Trade Representative. She added, however, that "nothing in the panel's report undermines the broad, favorable results that the United States obtained from the WTO in April 2005." The United States has yet to say if it will appeal the compliance panel's findings. A final ruling in favor of Antigua would allow the country to seek trade sanctions on the United States for its failure to comply. To avoid the penalties, the Washington would have to either permit offshore internet gambling sites access to Americans or eliminate exceptions for remote betting on horses. In October 2006, the President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which made it illegal for financial institutions to knowingly process gambling transactions. While the law is on the books, the method of enforcement has yet to be decided. Arizona Senator Jon Kyl has been making attempts to rally support in Congress for the enforcement of UIGEA, however his efforts are losing steam. The Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank of Massachusetts has called UIGEA the "stupidest law ever passed". Frank is looking into introducing legislation with the help of Southern Nevada Congresswoman, Shelley Berkley to reverse UIGEA in the upcoming session of Congress. Point-Spreads.com believes the recent WTO findings can only help the online gambling industry as a whole and will continue to monitor the efforts of Barney Frank and Shelley Berkley.                        |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 30 March 2007 ) | |||||||