Yesterday,
Barbuda and
Antigua declared
victory in a
trade clash over
whether
Washington
should drop
embargos on
Americans
wagering in
online casinos.
Antigua stated a
World Trade
Organization
ruling means the
US has to drop
limitations on
online casino
gambling.
On the other
hand, so did the
US.
US trade
officials said
the WTO ruling
was in fact, in
favor of their
dispute and that
the limitations
would stay put.
L
egal
counsel for
Antigua, said
the WTO ruling
means US powers
that be would
have to treat
Antiguan online
casinos in the
same way as they
treat land
casinos.
Even thought the
WTO ruling has
not yet been
publicized, a
US trade
representative
said the ruling
meant Washington
won't have to
lift bans on
online casino
wagering.
Back in 2003,
Antigua filed
the case before
the WTO, stating
that US bans on
online casino
gambling
violated trade
commitments the
US pledged as a
member of the
WTO.
Fighting back,
WTO officials
state that
negotiators
implicated in
the Uruguay
Round of global
trade talks,
which created
the WTO in 1995,
clearly proposed
to exclude
gambling.
Antiguan powers
that be also
argued that bans
that barred US
residents from
betting at
offshore casinos
were hurting
their country's
attempt to help
its economy.
After the two
island nation
was hit by a
series of
hurricanes, it
attempted to
boost its
economy by
creating the
offshore gaming
in order to not
rely on just
tourism as a way
to make money.
The island
nation has no
more than 70,000
citizens.
Antiguan
officials state
that online
casinos generate
jobs for over
3,000 of the
residents of
Antigua.
