Before WTO Move, EU Looks to US Action on Online Gambling
Sources inside the European Commission probe into US prosecutions against European online casino operators say the investigation is likely to recommend advancing the complaint to the World Trade Organization. Still, officials at the European Union want to give the new US administration a chance to work out arrangements regarding online gambling.The Remote Gaming Association, which represents European Internet gambling sites, had lodged the original complaint with the EC, leading to the investigation. Since then, the Bush administration had both largely ignored and impeded the inquiry.
Hoping to avoid a lengthy case before the WTO, EU leaders look to Obama's promises to work with other nations, and recent US promises to avoid protectionist policies.
One insider told Reuters, "The report next month will back the EU's position, but the Commission intends to deliver its findings to Washington which it hopes will persuade the U.S. to start bilateral talks to find a solution without going to the WTO."
Clive Hawkswood, head of the RGA, told Online Casino Advisory that the basis for the complaint lies in the continued attempts to prosecute European online casinos while US online gambling continues to act freely.
Hawkswood noted that, while pursuing PartyGaming and other legitimate foreign online gambling operators, the US Department of Justice "has not taken similar action against US based companies and so it has acted in a discriminatory fashion."
