European Commission Could Drive US Online Gambling Industry To Regulation

The United States is coming dangerously close to shutting off the rest of the world with their online gambling stance, on Monday, the European Union started an investigation into whether the U.S. is discriminating against foreign online gambling companies.

"The U.S. has the right to address legitimate public policy concerns relating to Internet gambling, but discrimination against EU companies cannot be part of the policy mix," said Peter Mandelson, EU Trade Commissioner in a statement.

If the EU finds that the U.S. indeed has discriminated in their prosecution of foreign companies, the door will be open to the WTO beginning proceedings against the United States.

This could be another in the growing lists of reasons that the U.S. could be heading towards regulating online gambling.

Congressman Barney Frank already has a Bill on the table, Bill HR 2046, the Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, that would regulate online gambling.

The Bill is gaining support with every passing day, and the scrutiny from the European Commission will only add to the strong possibility that the Bill will eventually be passed.

Recently, Frank spoke out about how the banks have a much too important role to have to worry about policing online gambling. His words will be heard at a spring time hearing in hopes of resolving the issue.

The current economy in the United States will also be a factor that will play a huge part in some of the stances that have been taken against regulating online gambling. Those stances have already began to soften, with more politicians realizing the need to regulate a billion dollar industry.

The United Kingdom is currently working within a system where online gambling is legal. It is likely with the latest news from the European Union inquiry, that the U.S. will soon to come around to the worlds views on online gambling.

March 10, 2008
Posted By Tom Jones
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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