US Online Gambling vs Antigua

The New York Times has an article about how the tiny country of Antigua has taken the United States to court (World Trade Organization) over online gambling restrictions. They won a court battle in 2004 and two more appeals after that. They are currently in an arbitration case where an arbitrator is currently deciding on the damage the US will have to pay.

When the court decision was made in the WTO the US did not comply. They appealed the ruling and also made it harder for online gamblers to gamble by passing the UIGEA banning credit cards from being used to fund accounts. The US has an argument that they are protecting their citizens but the major problem with this is they allow some forms of gambling including horse racing and lotto while setting restrictions on others.

Antigua is home to many online casinos and with the current stats of the US laws it feels the US is not in compliance with the WTO. The decision from the WTO court agree’s with Antigua and it looks like they are looking for compensation of $3.4 billion dollars. They have also asked to be able to dismiss the US intellectual property laws and be able to pirate movies, music and software. This would be a solution Hollywood and many of the biggest companies in the US would be unhappy with and would push congress to make amends with the country and strike a deal.

The two solutions for the US is to completely ban online gambling which would include horse racing and state run lotteries. Or legalize all forms of online gambling. Both of these seem rather unlikely as the US has not show they are willing to do something so drastic. It will be interesting to see what the arbitrator comes up with and if the small country of Antigua will take the US for billions of dollars and the right to pirate music, software and games.

This blog entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2007 at 6:15 pm and is filed under Blackjack News. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.