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Problems with WTO Continue

Last week the LA Times gave a scathing commentary on the state of online casino gambling in the United States. Between the current legislation (the UIGEA) and the proposed new legislation advocating licensing and regulation of online casinos in the U.S., the debate is heated. Then add into that equation the World Trade Organization, and their stance that the U.S.’s latest legislation is against foreign policy, and you have a debacle worthy of the National Enquirer.

Though Senator Barney Frank’s current proposal does have some strong support in the legislature, the U.S. has made confirmation this week that the US online casino gambling laws will not be changing in the near future. But that announcement doesn’t mean the U.S.’s problems are over yet. The WTO still maintains that the UIGEA violates internationally agreed upon policy, and that the U.S. needs to address these issues immediately.

Part of the issue with the WTO organization stems from the fact that in 1993 the U.S. agreed to an open U.S. market. Now though, the U.S. is countering that the U.S. has placed restrictions on activities since 1961 if they threaten the public moral. For that reason, the U.S. is arguing that online casino gambling falls under that purview. But even to that argument the WTO is contending that online horserace betting is still legal in the United States, so foreign based online casinos should be allowed to accept horserace betting if nothing else.

As a way to eliminate the problem with the WTO, the US has plans to “clarify” the 1993 open market commitment adding that “recreational services” do not include any form of online casino gambling. Once those modifications are made, the WTO will have no further jurisdiction over the issue. This little fix seems to merely act as a band-aid to the real issue—the U.S. needs to restructure and clarify the country’s online casino gambling laws.