Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Although things have appeared bleak lately for Americans who enjoy online
gambling, something is about to happen next month which may swing the
pendulum back towards freedom of choice. Laws passed previously banned
non-US companies from operating in the US gaming market. However, Antigua
and Barbuda had built up a significant Internet gambling industry to replace
falling tourist revenue and took the US to the The World Trade Organization
(WTO). Antigua argued that this was an illegal trade restriction, claiming
it broke a free trade pact that the US had signed. The World Trade
Organization (WTO) has ruled against the US in an online gambling dispute
with the Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda. Although the ruling is
still private, it's been reported that the WTO has found the US guilty of
not complying with a 2005 order in the case. More alarming is the fact that
this information was deliberately leaked by the United States despite a
stern warning from the WTO to keep this information privileged until an
official report was to be released in March of 2007. Many uninformed
individuals don't believe this particular victory will change anything. In
fact, they are the first to point out that the United States has taken a
more drastic approach recently by citing some examples. Last October, the US
passed laws which made almost all Internet gambling illegal in the US and
several online gambling executives have been held by US authorities. The
latest blow occurred when two of the co-founders of Neteller were arrested
in January. In a time when the US has been ordered to comply, their actions
have been quite the opposite. They have acted like arrogant bullies
because they believe they can get away with it. Well, for starters, they
tried this with Iraq and look at where that got us? Don't underestimate the
WTO and in particular, Antigua's commitment to drastically change the course
of recent events. When an economy like Antigua depends so much on Internet
gambling, wouldn't you naturally expect them to fight for their lives? And
let's not forget they have the "law" on their side, too. Finally, to those
who don't believe Antigua can stop the US from ignoring the WTO's ruling, I
beg to differ. One example of how Antigua can fight back is to attack
America where it hurts most, in their wallets. It's been said that Antigua
can make movies available for basically "peanuts" so that Americans could
theoretically purchase their favorite DVD'S and other products for a dollar
a piece.