September 16, 2008 (onlinecasinoadvisory.com) — As the United States attempts to withdraw from trade commitments to the E.U. regarding Internet gambling — specifically, commitments that "obligated the country to allow online casinos the opportunity to compete with domestic gambling", according to www.onlinecasinoadvisory.com — a trade delegation arrived in Washington to formally negotiate the matter.
The delegation will be questioning legal and trade representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice on a numner of topics, but the prospect of a decision on the hightly controversial Internet gambling ban has been the central matter of speculation in recent days.
According to the article: "The U.S. is currently seeking to withdraw from free trade commitments that obligated the country to allow online casinos the opportunity to compete with domestic gambling. However, even if negotiation results in the U.S. being freed from the responsibility to obey the treaty it signed as a member of the World Trade Organization, such a ruling would not remove or mitigate the damages done by the closing of the U.S. market.
"Professor Joseph Weiler of the New York University School of Law said, 'It is a shame that the E.U. has to go this far to seek a solution to such an unnecessary and avoidable dispute that, if not solved, will have wide-reaching consequences for the U.S. and the systems it benefits from and needs to maintain.'
"Legal representatives of the RGA asserted that retroactive punishment was illegal, while trade experts predicted rocky times for the U.S. trade relationship with the world if this case continued to fester. Congressman Peter King of New York is among Republicans who have broken with party lines to admit regulation prevents so many problems, including solving the international difficulties caused by the UIGEA, as well as taking a huge burden off the financial industry and making the Internet safer for children."