We Tried To Work With US Says Antiguan Minister

A stunned and incredulous Dr. Cort commented, “I find it almost unbelievable that on the heels of our visit, during the course of which we highlighted the desire of Antigua to work amicably with the US Government in ensuring the safe delivery of these services to consumers in America, that Congress should choose to further protect their remote domestic industry at the cost of countries such as Antigua and Barbuda.”

The new legislation effectively bans all international and inter-state online gaming financial transactions by making it illegal for banks and credit card firms to make payments to such internet operations, while expanding domestic opportunities for legal Internet gaming through exemptions, says the minister. “My delegation held a series of meetings with representatives of the US Department of State, the US Trade Representative, and the Department of Justice and with Members of Congress, in an attempt to resolve the impasse over the American government’s refusal to comply with the WTO ruling.”

In addition to the new legislation, Antigua has been alarmed by other recent developments such as the June 1st indictment against BetonSports, shutting down the company which ran its US internet business from Costa Rica and Antigua, and the attempted extradition levelled at the chairman of Sportingbet, Peter Dicks, by the Louisiana authorities, who accused him of “gambling by computer”, thus violating the state’s morality laws.

Commentators from outside the US unanimously agree that the legislation is blatantly protectionist and hypocritical. “It should probably be seen as political in nature, given the up-coming mid-term Congressional elections.”

Lawyer Mark Mendel, who leads Antigua’s WTO legal team said, “Such a piece of open and protectionist legislation, tacked on to a major security bill at the eleventh hour, is as contrary to the decision of the WTO as can possibly be imagined. Expanding domestic remote gambling while at the same time further impeding our operators the right to provide these services - which the United States committed to do under the WTO agreements - is almost impossible to grasp.”

It is thought that Antigua-based operators account for about 25 percent of the estimated $6 billion wagered online by American gamblers every year.

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