The small Caribbean island nations of Antigua and Barbuda could play an important role in the ongoing dispute over Internet gambling and the United States.
Should arbitration efforts fail, Antigua, and other countries – including several in the European Union, could begin exacting sanctions next month over the U.S decision to withdraw from the World Trade Organization accord to recognize the legality of Internet gambling.
Antigua is currently seeking sanctions worth $3.4 billion, and there have been suggestions made that they could claim the sanctions by becoming a harbor for pirated intellectual property such as music and movies.
Sanctions claimed by the EU, India, and other parts of the world could total $100 billion, although the US is trying to negotiate for a lower level of compensation.
John Pappas, the executive director of the Poker Players Alliance, said that last year around 10 million Americans played poker online for cash. Online gambling is a grey legal area, but many of the laws that form the basis of the prohibition are out of date – such as the Wire Act, which was originally enacted to stop bookies from taking bets over the phone.
USTR Press Secretary Stephen Norton issued a statement saying that the administration would review the letter from the lawmakers and "work with Congress and our trading partners to address this matter."
Email this page
Print this page
Bookmark with del.icio.us
