The ongoing dispute between the U.S. and the European Commission has been partially resolved after a new trade settlement was made on December 17th.
The deal makes permanent the ban on foreign gambling companies operating in the U.S, in return for other concessions that will enable foreign companies in certain other sectors to do business there.
The agreement was brought about by the recent World Trade Organization case raised by Antigua, who felt that the law preventing non-U.S. Companies from offering online gambling services to American residents was discriminatory.
The European Commission's choice to accept the settlement is a blow for the European online gambling sector, which have already lost billions in annual revenue because of the ban. Ed Barton, an analyst at the London based research company Screen Digest, commented “The U.S. was by far the biggest market for [online gambling] companies. Their major bargaining chip of legal action has been taken away.”
Some companies are adjusting to the ban by expanding operations in Europe and Asia, but in the short term share prices have fell dramatically, and companies are looking to expand their markets to restore revenues back to pre-moratorium levels.
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