The United States estimates
that its Internet gambling restrictions have only cost Antigua and
Barbuda $500,000 in annual lost revenue – a figure the tiny Caribbean
nation’s chief counsel flatly rejected Friday.
Antigua, the smallest
country to ever win a World Trade Organization case, is seeking the
right to impose $3.4 billion in commercial sanctions against the U.S.
for its failure to comply with a ruling on its online betting ban.

Washington stopped U.S. banks and credit card companies last year from
processing payments to online gambling businesses outside the country.
The decision closed off the most lucrative region in a market worth
$15.5 billion. About half of the world’s online gamblers are based in
the United States.

In March, the WTO upheld the U.S. right to prevent offshore betting as
a means of protecting public order and public morals. But it said it
was illegal to target online gambling, without equally applying the
rules to American operators offering remote betting on horse and dog
racing.

After losing the WTO case, Washington declared its intention to
explicitly remove Internet gambling from its obligations under the
WTO’s treaty on trade in services. Australia, Canada, Costa Rica,
India, Macau, Japan and the 27-nation European Union have all joined
Antigua in filing compensation claims as a result, under a procedure
that is separate from the U.S.-Antigua sanctions arbitration.

Click here to go to the article and read more.

Author Contact Info: Associated Press