The Internet gambling ban in USA will remain

The ban on online gambling will remain active in the country, despite the recent WTO ruling.

The Internet gambling ban in USA will remain The United States Trade Representative's office issued a statement today that the ban on foreign Internet gambling services will continue. This opened doors for members of the World Trade Organization to seek potential damages resulting from this ban.

The USTR does not believe that any country, other than Antigua and Barbuda, has any basis for claiming damages. Those countries, however, have 45-day period to file claims.

The Trade Representative John Veroneau argued that there was a drafting error made by the United States as part of its commitments in the early 1990s to open its recreational services market, and they certainly did not mean to include gambling among those services.

In March, the WTO said the United States had failed to comply with an April 2005 ruling against a portion of its ban having to do with online gambling on horse racing. The United States will exercise a rarely used right under WTO rules to modify its services commitments and explicitly exclude gambling, Veroneau said.

05/04/2007