EU Willing to Negotiate with the US Regarding Online Casino Ban

March 30, 2009 | News Category: Gaming Law

0 Comments The policies of the United States with regards to foreign online casino operators has been making headlines for some time. Most recently, the European Commission have released the findings of their investigation into this issue.

The European Commission's report found that the United States is restricting trade which violates the World Trade Organization's (WTO) standards. This has been done by blocking and also prosecuting overseas online gambling companies that were operating in the United States.

The European Commission's report shows that the United States allows their own domestic online gambling, which includes such gambling as horse racing and lotteries. However, the United States has banned competitors from Europe (and other locations) from operating within their borders. There are also overseas operators that are facing persecution for such operations by the United States Department of Justice.

Although the European Commission has found that the US has violated WTO standards, the EU have said that they are planning to attempt to negotiate a settlement first, before taking any further action. This means that the EU will hold off on filing any kind of formal charges with the WTO while negotiations are underway.

While the previous administration, with Bush at the helm, were known to ignore any complaints received regarding trade violations, it is hoped that the new administration, under Obama's direction, will give these kind of talks some hope of occurring, and culminating in resolution of the issues.

If no deal is reached, the United States is at risk of a very serious complaint from the WTO. The scope and vast nature of the complaint could cost the US billions of dollars. The WTO has already told the US that it owes Antigua $21 million per year for shutting the island nation out of online gambling in the US.

Warnings from within the US have been ignored by the government. The warnings that a situation such as the one with the European Union was imminent was made by a number of Congressional figures. The Florida Representative Robert Wexler was one of those that voiced his protests about the actions performed by the US government regarding online casinos. Mr. Wexler had pointed out that the US government was not abiding by deals that had been agreed upon with various allies.

There is, of course, always Barney Frank who has been extremely active in challenging US legislators in an attempt to get online gambling regulated and legalized. If Frank's proposed bill passes in April, the US will have to reevaluate their investigations into supposed crimes allegedly committed by certain gambling operators in the recent past.

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