US Tells WTO : No Need to Comply With Internet Gambling Ruling

The World Trade Organization ruled against the United States in a case that Antigua brought up against the world powerful American nation over the Internet gambling ban in the US. The WTO ruled that the US could not ban Internet gambling for moral pretenses if they have exceptions for other forms of gambling in the law.

The US responded today by saying in not so many words, "Oops, we didn't mean to allow Internet gambling services as part of the market-opening commitments we made in the early 1990s."

The US expects this to be enough to repeal the WTO ruling that came down in March against the US in this case.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative John Veroneau said in a statement today that U.S. laws have banned interstate gambling for decades. However, the United States failed to make clear when it was drafting commitments in the early 1990s to open its recreational services that it did not intend to include gambling.

"Neither the United States nor other WTO members noticed this oversight in the drafting of U.S. commitments until Antigua and Barbuda initiated a WTO case ten years later," Veroneau said.

Furthering the obvious that the US is banning Internet gambling because they do not have a cut in the action, Veroneau said, "it would be nonsensical for the U.S. to make a commitment to open up interstate gambling for foreign providers when it was unlawful for U.S. providers."

No response has come from the WTO, however this is another case in which the United States comes off as if they are allowed to do whatever it is they please when it comes to international law, while other countries are expected to comply with no debate or questions asked.

Analysts believe the WTO will not accept this statement from the US and will still follow through with sanctions if the US does not comply with the WTO ruling.

May 4, 2007
Posted By Larry Rutherford
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!