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I saw this article and I know US does what it wants when it is convienent to do so, so is this a viable hope?
If the law that is planned to be signed by United States President, George W. Bush, on Friday is actually signed and enforced, it would be a direct spitting in the face of the United States to the World Trade Organization.
The WTO claims that the exemptions in the US Internet Gambling Prohibition Bill for horse racing and state run lotteries discriminates against foreign internet gambling companies.
The case brought to the US by the WTO representing Antigua and Barbuda mean nothing to the US, however, if the United Kingdom and/or the European Union get involved the United States could face some mighty troubles.
The EU already expressed interest in the WTO case claiming that the new US legislation confirms that the US is breaking WTO laws against protectionism.
“To the extent that the legislation eliminates foreign competition for activities that remain lawful in the U.S., such as online betting on state-licensed horseracing, or state-licensed casino gambling that meets federal guidelines, there’s no doubt it raises WTO issues,” said Jonathan M. Winer, a Washington attorney.
We will see in the coming weeks how the US really feels about violating WTO rulings.
US want WTO as a way of exporting their own products and services but when it comes to import from others, they simply disregard WTO.
Hope other countries can do something regarding this. Not only on online gambling but on all disrespect for international rules. There’s no space here to enumerate all.
Here is an article about the new bill viewed as proteccionism. Well the reality is that, this bill is simply a piece of proteccionism.
The folly of legislating leisure
The Review Journal.com has joined the many publications voicing concern at the manner in which the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act was steamrollered through Congress as a late attachment to a critical security bill recently.
Commenting on the folly of prohibition through legislation that targets leisure activity, the respected publication reports that proposer Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was determined to please his religious right political base with a new law before November’s election, no matter how flawed or misguided it might be.
“The cause was so preposterous it couldn’t win passage as a stand-alone bill,” the Review says. “Sen. Frist first tried to attach the Internet gambling ban to a defense appropriations bill. No luck. So he slipped it into port security legislation that passed the House and Senate early Saturday.”
Tongue-in-cheek, the report goes on to claim that Sen. Frist included enough exemptions in his proposal to rival the IRS tax code.
“The bill permits Web-based betting on horse racing and for state lotteries. It also allows state-licensed casinos, once authorized within their jurisdiction, to construct Web sites with online poker and casino-style gaming. And these casinos would be allowed to provide links to other states and countries where gambling is legal,” the Review reveals.
So rather than deliver a “ban,” Sen. Frist merely cut off the American market from online gambling sites based in Britain and the Caribbean. “Like most heavy-handed regulations, this “ban” is really just thinly veiled protectionism,” the publication concludes.
The article includes a quote from expert gambling attorney Tony Cabot, who says: “In order to get this bill passed, they (Republicans) sold their souls. They gave so many exceptions that it’s now a wide-open area.”
The piece concludes with the observation: “This Internet gambling “ban” is nothing close to a ban at all – and that’s a good thing. It’s foolish to think the Internet gambling genie can be stuffed back into its bottle. Technology is driving the evolution of the gaming industry, so it makes perfect sense that regulated American companies should be allowed to conduct business with their millions of customers through the World Wide Web.”
If the WTO is our last hope then we are screwed. The United States ignores the WTO when ever it chooses. The only time it acknowledges the WTO is when its politically expedient to do so (IE they are doing something we like). When the WTO does somenthing we dont like we simply ignore it.
Professor wrote:If the WTO is our last hope then we are screwed. The United States ignores the WTO when ever it chooses. The only time it acknowledges the WTO is when its politically expedient to do so (IE they are doing something we like). When the WTO does somenthing we dont like we simply ignore it.Unless there is a strong opposition from European countries. Which I doubt. Although, given recent development at EU and the strong position of UK on this, something may happen.
If the US ignores WTO ruling, it means Antigua can place trade restrictions on the US. The US doesnt rely on Antigua for anything major… so whatever Antigua does to the US will have no impact at all.
The WTO and its rulings get treated like a bunch of guidelines by the big boys, but if someone doesnt play by the big boys rules.. the big boys have a legitmate way of enforcing the WTO and their decision on other countries.
:flamer:
