US Would be "Compliant" by Banning Online Horse RacingThe tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua is seeking $3.4 billion in compensation from the US following a ruling made by the World Trade Organization favoring Antigua in a years long Internet gambling dispute.
But tiny Antigua may get none of it.
International economics law expert John Jackson has announced that Antigua and Barbuda will most likely have to settle for a much smaller amount and possibly none at all according to an iGaming Business report.
Jackson noted that the US would be 'in compliance" with the WTO ruling if it were to remove a "horse racing carve out" from the controversial Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act passed back in October. That law makes all forms of online gambling essentially "illegal" while allowing horse bets. The WTO and Antigua call this "US protectionism".
Speaking at a policy forum hosted by the Cato Institute in Washington on Wednesday, Jackson, who is a professor at the prestigious Georgetown University Law Center, said that the US would be compliant with the WTO ruling by withdrawing the horse racing commitments without subjecting itself to an evaluation of how Antigua is affected by the entire US ban on foreign Internet gambling providers.
'The U.S. could withdraw the whole sporting commitment but then the compensation will be more than it needs to be,' said Jackson.
'More likely, it will carve out of the sporting commitment just the horse racing gambling question. Arguably, the compensation only has to deal with the horse racing problem.”
Mark Mendel, attorney for Antigua disagreed with Jackson's assessment.
"This is not about horse racing,” said Mendel. “They were very successful in spinning this as if it's only a horse racing issue. This isn't about horse racing, it's about remote gaming."
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com
Originally published July 31, 2007 9:26 am ET
