Antigua Defends Online Gambling Position

October 11, 2007

Antigua has come under fire from some within the United States due to their attempts to get the US to comply with the WTO trade agreements that have been in place. The small nation is pushing for compensation from the US since the US has closed its doors to online gambling, a major part of their financial makeup.

Finance Minister L. Errol Cort is standing his ground against the US and his detractors saying that he will not rest until the US starts acting in a way befitting their stature as a nation. He says that until the nation allows US citizens to start online gambling again, or removes all online gambling from within the US, he will continue to be a thorn in their side.

He is planning on hitting the nation with $3.4 billion in trademark penalties if they do not comply. The tiny nation relies on the funding from the online gambling to keep their country financially solvent, and without it they are losing billions each year in online gambling revenue. They used to turn to tourism for their funding, but with the weather problems that they have had, they have found that online gambling is much more feasible for them.

The WTO had ruled in favor of the country, but the US has chosen to ignore the requests from the organization, and is instead moving forward however they please. Antigua is not the only one seeking compensation from the US, there is also Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Japan, Macau, and the 27-nation European Union filing as well.

They say that the US expects everyone to respect their trademarks, etc, and want those rules enforced by the WTO, but when the WTO rules against them they are all too willing to ignore the other countries’ wishes. Antigua says that if the US is willing to hit them where it hurts, turnaround is fair play.

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