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A ruling in the matter of US Government vs. BetonSports, et al. concludes that the defendants do not have any legal standing under the GATS treaty. The General Agreement on Trade in Services is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to services, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for merchandise trade.
The World Trade Organization ruled against the United States in Antigua's dispute related to its burgeoning online gambling industry.
The treaty does not create private or individual rights, a report and recommendation of the United States Magistrate Court concludes.
The federal statutes authorizing the Uruguay Round Agreements preclude reference to GATS, WTO panel reports or appellate rulings in determining the legality, application and scope of United States statutes.
The defendants have 11 days to file written objections to the report.
Gary Kaplan, Founder of BetonSports, and several other principals in the company, including its former CEO David Carruthers, were indicted two years ago for various offenses including money laundering and tax evasion.
The Report and Recommendations can be read in their entirety here.
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Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher CCostigan@CostiganMedia.com
Originally published July 18, 2008 8:57 pm EST
