"U.S. Must Meet Deadline on Gambling Ban"

The small island country of Antigua is still waiting for the United States to comply with the World Trade Organization’s April 7 th decision with regard to its complaint that was filed with the WTO in regard to the perceived discriminatory policies against online gambling companies of the United States. The world Trade Organization has given the United States until April 3 rd of 2006 to comply with its decision. The WTO has ruled that the U.S. can only maintain its ban on Internet gambling in the interest of public morals, as long as the ban does not generate discriminatory policies towards foreign Internet gambling interests. By way of response to the World Trade Organization’s ruling, the United States has responded that it would be able to with the WTO’s decision without exposing itself to foreign Internet gambling if it only “clarifies” its restrictions.

Nina Moorjanig, who is the spokesperson for the U.S. Trade Representative Rob Porterman, has said that in order to implement the findings of this dispute, all the United States needs to do is to clarify the one narrow issue with regard to Internet gambling on horse racing. She spoke by telephone from Washington on Friday. She also added that this would not involve the weakening of United States restrictions on Internet gambling.

Antigua developed its online gambling industry after United States representatives had advised it to establish an alternative industry to its tourism industry in order to boost its economy. It wants access to the U.S. gambling market. This market is the largest in the world and it accounts for almost 55 percent of all online bets. There is an estimated global Internet gambling industry of between $7 billion and $12 billion. Those Internet gambling companies that are registered in Antigua, examples being SportingsBet Plc and BetmeWWTS.com, account for about a quarter of the wagers placed in the estimated global Internet gambling industry.

Antigua has a population of less than 68,000 and is the smallest nation ever to place a complaint with the World Trade Organization. It was considered as being somewhat of a victory when the WTO ruled in their favor against the Bush administration saying that by simply arguing that the ban was for moral reasons, the Bush administration had not justified its position against Internet gambling. The World Trade Organization has also ruled that the U.S. had previously committed itself to opening its market to the online gambling industry in 1995, and that it had to uphold that commitment. The U.S. still must comply with the ruling even though it did win part of an appeal against the WTO ruling.

John Asher, who is the ambassador to the WTO for Antigua, said in an interview from his New York office that the time being allowed to the United States is adequate, and that they hope that the U.S. is doing everything possible to comply with the World Trade Organization’s decision. According to Asher, Antigua’s only goal in this case is access to the U.S. gambling market.