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Online Casinos Legality Debate
Continues With Antigua at Center Stage
Antigua yesterday
lashed out at the United States once again for letting the mandated
April 3rd deadline pass without settling the three year old online
casinos debate that has already been brought in front of the World Trade
Organization (WTO).
Antigua, that tiny island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic
Ocean, situated southeast of Puerto Rico, has become a recent focal
point in the online casinos industry.
While tourism continues to dominate the local economy, the online
casinos industry is quickly shaping up as one of the island’s economic
gems. The tourist industry has slowed in Antigua over the past few
years, and though the industry still accounts for more than half of the
island nation’s GDP, Antigua has entered a fiscal pickle, looking for
new prospects for economic growth. Online casinos have begun to answer
this need.
In 2003, Antigua partnered with the World Trade Organization (WTO) and
filed a formal complaint against the United States over the issue of
online casinos and the legality of online casinos. Antigua’s complaint
said that the United States’ ban on cross-border online casinos and
Internet gambling was hurting the local gaming market.
The next year, in 2004, a World Trade Organization panel ruled in favor
of Antigua, but in 2005 this ruling was partially reversed.
Nevertheless, the country’s economic spirits were lifted due to the
initial ruling in their favor. Online casinos provide a great model for
the country’s continued economic success and aims at becoming modern,
and now the country’s position as a leader in online casinos received an
even greater boost because the WTO is on the side of Antigua in the
cross-border gambling dispute relating to online casinos, but the United
States has yet to respond.
Some anti online casinos officials believe that Internet gambling and
online casinos are often an unregulated arena where the financing of
terrorism may occur. In the United States, members of the House of
Representatives have proposed anti-gambling bills that specifically
target these online casinos.
Antiguan officials finally charged yesterday that the United States and
their trade representatives have rebuffed the tiny island nation’s
attempts to bring a solution to this online casinos squabble and years
long debate.
An Antiguan government statement said that the United States has
“refused to discuss any compromise or settlement at all.” The Antiguans
are clearly angered. Antigua also wants to know if the World Trade
Organization works for all, or if it only works for the most powerful
(like the United States).
A representative for the United States, Steve Fabry, said that the U.S.
is working on “appropriate steps to resolve this matter.” Still,
according to Antigua, nothing has been done.
Antigua added, “It is ironic that at this point in time when the United
States is upbraiding other WTO nations for failing to meet their
obligations under WTO agreements…the very same government would treat
its own WTO obligations to Antigua and Barbuda with such scant regard.”
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