Antigua and United States Can't Settle Online Casino Damages
Despite every effort by Antigua to compromise, the island country's lead attorney feels that it is highly unlikely that an agreement with the United States regarding trade violations can be reached by Friday's deadline.
Mark Mendel indicated that the U.S. seemed unwilling to make any kind of a fair offer, and that the World Trade Organization's set date of June 6th to reach a solution before further legal action is probably going to pass without resolution.
The U.S. was found to have acted against free trade compacts when it effectively closed the U.S. market to online gambling operations overseas by implementation of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. By allowing local casinos to engage in the activities proscribed to foreign online casinos, the U.S. had engaged in forbidden protectionist activity.
Antigua asked the WTO to rule in its favor for $3.4 billion, but received a stunningly low $21 million annual award. Still, the U.S. has not seen fit to arrange settlement of even this minor debt.
While Antiguan Finance Minister Dr. Errol Cort seemed to feel negotiations had made some progress, and said he would agree to extend the deadline, the burden here is on the U.S. By blatantly disregarding free trade agreements President Bush championed, the U.S. has made itself look foolish and vulnerable at the same time.
European countries are now beginning the process of filing their own complaints before the WTO. Antigua should press its case; its damages were clearly significantly higher than the award, and to accept less would be to accept bullying by the U.S.
As for the U.S., it had better repeal the UIGEA quickly, before damages mount ever higher. The best case for the U.S. would be to change policies, allowing online casinos to operate, and settle with Antigua quickly and quietly, before billions need to be paid to countries around the world.
