Antigua Seeks Trade Sanctions Against the US in Online Gambling DisputeThe tiny little Caribbean nation of Antigua may be getting just a little bit richer by the tune of $3.44 billion. That's the amount Antigua claims they are entitled to as a result of the US government ignoring a World Trade Organization decision related to online gambling.
The compensation would come from Antigua's withdrawal of intellectual property protections for U.S. trademarks, patents and industrial designs, that nation's government said.
"We feel we have no other choice in the matter, we have fought long and hard for fair access to the U.S. market and have won at every stage of the WTO process,'' said Errol Cort, Antigua's finance minister in an e-mailed statement. "This industry has been and can be regulated,'' he said, adding that the dispute isn't a moral issue, as claimed by the U.S.
After losing an appeal against earlier WTO decisions which found the U.S. ban illegal, the U.S. moved May 4 to ``clarify'' its commitments to the Geneva-based trade arbiter, saying it ``never intended'' to open its market to offshore Internet gambling when it made pledges on joining the WTO in 1994.
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But the WTO found that the US government is engaging in "protectionism" by permitting online gambling for its lucrative horse racing industry. The World Trade Organizations contends that the United States would be adhering to policy if it were to ban horse betting along with all other forms of Internet gambling.
Antigua, the smallest nation to ever take a case at the WTO with a population just over 60,000, says it's entitled to compensation for its losses and that Americans spend $10 billion a year in online bets.
In October, a law was passed that would essentially ban online gambling via the banking institutions. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was designed to prevent individuals from using bank issued credit cards in which to wager. However, earlier this month, an independent trade organization based in the United States filed a complaint that sought an injunction against the UIGEA policy making process moving forward. Banks had 270 days in which to develop policies that would adhere to the new law with a deadline originally set for mid July.
On Tuesday, the 27-nation European Union also announced it would seek compensation from the US government even though a handful of European countries have taken similar stances as the US government as it pertains to foreign online gambling firms.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published June 20, 2007 10:09 am ET
