World Trade Organization Weighs In On Online Gambling

Aggressive moves by the U.S. to thwart online sports betting within its borders may spark a broad trade dispute with Caribbean and European nations that provide homes to the $12 billion Internet gambling industry.

The World Trade Organization in Geneva is said to be looking into complaints by Antigua and other countries that U.S. laws banning Internet betting violate free-trade rules. The WTO has previously approved some U.S. gambling laws under its trade rules while rejecting others.

Antigua has been a big foe of the U.S. on the subject of online casinos, but other countries such as Costa Rica could be drawn into the fray. Costa Rica is home to betonsports.com, an online gaming site that has been severely curtailed by a temporary restraining order approved Monday by a federal court in Dallas.

The restraining order coincides with the indictment of David Carruthers, betonsports.com's chief executive, and ten others affiliated with the company. Carruthers was arrested at the Dallas airport Monday and charged with racketeering, among other things. He had been en route from the U.K. to Costa Rica. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri unsealed the indictment, which had been handed down by a federal grand jury in June.

Developing economies such as Antigua have welcomed online gaming companies as a way to diversify their heavy reliance on the tourism industry. They complain that U.S. laws restricting online gambling cost them dearly. "A number of Third World countries have been saved by online gambling," says Lawrence Walters, a Florida attorney who specializes in online gaming laws. "I wouldn't be surprised if we see some WTO claims."

The BBC reported Tuesday that the WTO was setting up a committee to study Antigua's claims and has 90 days to report on the U.S.'s compliance with its earlier rulings. Members who fail to comply with WTO rulings face the possibility of sanctions, like higher tariffs on non-related items.

July 19, 2006
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com    Previous Page | Internet Gambling | Top Online Casinos | Submit News!

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