31 January 2008
| 13 USA ban on online casino industry not a hit with WTO |
| 12 Oct 2006 |
| The decision to ban any online casino from accepting wagers from the USA might have negative consequences for the USA after all. A while ago the WTO settled a dispute between Antigua and the USA regarding a protectionist move the USA was making towards Antigua. The new bill banning American banks from processing payment to an online casino is exactly that: an interference with the ruling of any country that has licensed online casinos. The ban has drastic economic consequences for the online casino industry and a huge impact on perfectly legal businesses around the world. This might not disturb the USA so much, were it not for the complaint against China it has recently filed at the WTO. If America wants a favorable decision on this complaint, it is expected that she would have to comply with all other rulings that the WTO has passed already. The WTO will decide in December whether this has been the case and will in all likelihood find the ban against the online casino industry a problem. Antiguan state officials and the online casino lobby remain committed to find a constructive solution with America on these issues. It is widely thought that the online casino ban was strongly motivated by the upcoming presidential elections, and any solution would have to find a way to reflect positively on the congress. It is also possible that the issue will be revived after the elections when the situation has cooled down a little. |
