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An Unbiased Look at the W.T.O. vs U.S. Debates: ANTIGUA

This small Caribbean island nation relied heavily on the U.S. based online casino industry to supply the island with thousands of jobs, and revenue for the government. Once the U.S. passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, effectively shutting down all of the online casinos servicing U.S. players, Antigua lost a huge percentage of its business, well over 90 percent. The U.S. offered no support to the countries devastated by the sudden U.S. legislation, so Antigua sought the support of the World Trade Organisation.

Once the WTO reviewed the case, it ruled in favor of Antigua and announced that the U.S. was in violation of global trade agreements. At the point that the U.S. failed to acknowledge the rulings, Antigua began to seek the support of other countries. The U.S. further announced plans to amend the trade agreements of the early 90s to exclude online casino and internet gambling, and therefore circumvent the WTO’s ruling, and avoid providing compensation to the other affected countries.

At this point, many news sources reported the comments from Antigua’s Ambassador John Ashe. Essentially, Ashe threatened at the WTO dispute panel that his country would target U.S. trademarks, copyrights, and telecommunications companies if this is not adequately resolved. Ashe remarked, “Not only do we think that members should press claims for compensatory adjustments as a matter of economic self-interest, but we also believe it is important that the process is made as difficult as possible for the United States. There is something clearly wrong with the concept that after a long, difficult struggle covering years of dispute resolution at the WTO an offending member could ultimately avoid the consequences of its loss by withdrawing the commitment that gave rise to the claim in the first place. As far as we are concerned, our dispute has been resolved and the United States remains obligated to comply.”

This is Antigua’s official stance on the online casino gambling issue, and the nation is waiting to see how the U.S. responds to pressure from the EU and other major countries