Antigua - U.S.
online gambling resolution set for Friday
Ever
since the U.S. passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement
Act (UIGEA) in 2006, the tiny nation of Antigua has been in odds
with the States over the online gambling law. Antigua accuses
the United States of crippling its gambling industry by barring
the banks and financial institutions from processing
transactions to online gambling websites and scored a minor
victory last year, when the World Trade Organization (WTO)
backed Antigua's request to target US services, copyrights and
trademarks in retaliation for a US online gambling ban.
Unfortunately for Antigua, the small nation was only allowed to
do so in the limits of $21 million annually, compared to the
$3.4 billion requested by Antigua.
Sean M. Spicer, a spokesman for the
office of the US Trade Representative, has said the US and
Antigua were trying in good faith to settle the dispute through
a mutual agreement. But the June 6th WTO deadline has long
passed without a resolution being reached between the two
parties over the online gambling ban. On Monday, Finance
Minister Errol Cort said sit-downs with US trade representatives
could achieve resolution over the gambling discord by June 20,
saying the new settlement deadline would "allow both parties
additional time to see whether we're able to meet some amicable
resolution," although specific information was not released.
Published on
06/18/2008
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