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 Antigua
Will Be Able To
Advertise In Great
Britain
The government of
Antigua has
announced that it is
close to attaining "whitelist"
status in the United
Kingdom, thus
permitting its
online gambling
ventures to
advertise there.
The Caribbean nation
recently won a
landmark case
against the United
States with the
World Trade
Organization
concerning Internet
gambling.
Firms such as Bodog
have been anxious to
break into the
European market,
specifically Great
Britain.
A high level
delegation from
Antigua and Barbuda
is confident that
the country's
application for "whitelisting"
under the UK's
recent gambling
legislation will be
approved following a
meeting yesterday
with UK Minister for
Sport Gerry
Sutcliffe MP and
Antiguan Minister of
Finance and the
Economy Dr L. Errol
Cort, who commented
that very little
stands in the way of
a successful
application.
Remote gaming
operators in
jurisdictions
attaining "whitelist"
status are allowed
to advertise their
services to
consumers in the
United Kingdom.
Although a handful
of applicants have
been accepted for
whitelisting,
Antigua's
application has yet
to be approved.
Minister Cort and
the other members of
his delegation
visited Minister
Sutcliffe with the
hope of moving the
process along and
ensuring that the
Gambling Commission
had all information
necessary to
complete its review
and approve
Antigua's
application.
"We are extremely
encouraged by the
reception we
received from
Minister Sutcliffe
and his staff,"
observed Minister
Cort. "I was happy
to learn that very
little stands in the
way of our approval
for whitelisting,
and I think I can
express confidence
that this issue will
be resolved
favourably in the
very near future,"
said Dr Cort.
"We are acknowledged
global leaders in
the regulation of
this industry," said
Director of Gaming
Ms Kaye McDonald.
"Our standards are
the highest in the
world and we view
the whitelisting as
important to
demonstrate our
commitment to the
highest standards in
the supervision and
oversight of this
dynamic industry."
Minister Cort
concluded by stating
that he considered
the mission an
unqualified success.
"This meeting shows
what governments can
accomplish by
working
cooperatively and
openly to resolve
issues between them.
We appreciate
Minister Sutcliffe's
interest in this
matter and look
forward to
concluding this
matter shortly."
The Antiguan
delegation also
included High
Commissioner Dr.
Carl Roberts, Deputy
Administrator of the
Financial Services
Commission Trevor
Mathurin, Director
of Gaming Ms Kaye
McDonald, gaming
regulatory
consultant Alan
Pedley and legal
advisor Mark Mendel.
Minister Cort
indicated that he
had assembled the
team in order to be
able to address the
specifics of any
questions or
concerns that
Minister Sutcliffe
may have had
regarding Antigua's
regulatory efforts.
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