EU History May Lead to US Indifference on Online Casino Report

But a leading expert in trade says lax prosecution of past cases by the EU will keep the US from feeling pressured to change its Internet gambling stances.

The European Commission, the executive branch of the EU government, released a report last week that concluded US policy regarding foreign online casinos is in violation of WTO agreements. But a leading expert in trade says lax prosecution of past cases by the EU will keep the US from feeling pressured to change its Internet gambling stances.

Dr. Stephen Woolcock of the London School of Economics told Gambling Compliance that the EU investigates several complaints a year. However, it rarely pursues the cases to the World Trade Organization.

The Trade Barriers Regulation is the method used by private concerns to bring complaints before the EU. In the situation with the US, the Remote Gaming Association is the primary group asking for action to stop US persecutions.

“The Trade Barriers Regulation is not a very sharp instrument to get the US’ attention,” said Woolcock. “The EU has never really used it very aggressively.”

Trade representatives from the EU have already said they would prefer to negotiate a settlement rather than to advance the complaint to the WTO.

Still, the EU is unlikely to accept a scenario in which the US continues to investigate European online gambling sites for activities in the US when the US was bound by trade agreements to allow unrestricted competition in services.

Further, the Obama administration and new US Trade Representative Ron Kirk have pledged to devote themselves to adherence to the rules. It would be a black eye for the administration if it flouted the results of the EC inquiry.

At the least, observers say, European gaming sites such as PartyGaming can expect some relief from US pressure for actions prior to 2006.