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U.S., Antigua Seek Solution to Internet Gambling Case
Tue Jun 29, 2004 01:09 PM ETWASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States and Antigua have suspended litigation over Internet gambling and want to resolve the World Trade Organization dispute through negotiations, an American official said on Tuesday.
“We look forward to working with Antigua to discuss the issues surrounding the dispute and hopefully to resolving it,” said Richard Mills, a spokesman for the U.S. Trade Representative’s office.Tiny Antigua and Barbuda successfully challenged the U.S. ban on Internet gambling, U.S. trade officials said in April. At the time, the officials said the Bush administration planned to appeal the WTO confidential ruling.
Online gambling is growing rapidly worldwide, with spending of around $7.5 billion this year, according to industry estimates.
Antigua stands to capture only a small portion of that total. But the twin-island Caribbean country, one of the smallest in the world with a population of about 67,000, has been trying to build an offshore casino industry to offset declining tourism.
The WTO panel found that the United States’ ban on Internet, telephone and other remote gambling services violated U.S. trade commitments, according to sources last spring.
While the WTO panel agreed that the American prohibitions were designed to protect public morals and public order, it faulted the United States for failing to negotiate with Antigua on alternatives to the ban.
In Geneva on Tuesday, the WTO said the parties in the gambling trade dispute “have requested the (WTO) panel to suspend the panel proceedings…until 23 August 2004. The panel has agreed to this request.”
Mills added that Antigua, with 10 days’ notice, could revoke the suspension of the case, putting the dispute back on the WTO’s agenda.
