WTO Officially Rules Against U.S. in Internet Gambling Dispute

The World Trade Organization confirmed Friday that the U.S. has not complied with an earlier ruling which stated that anti-online gambling legislation enacted in the U.S. (before the UIGEA) is in violation of WTO rules.   

The ruling goes back to a 2003 complaint by Antigua and Barbuda, which argued that by restricting its citizens’ access to internet gaming, the U.S. was unfairly hurting the tiny island nation.  Antigua and Barbuda has derived significant revenue from online gambling over the last few years, as it has attempted to lessen its reliance on tourism.   

The WTO said that the United States may still legislate against online gambling, but it must do so in a consistent manner.  Currently, some online gambling is legal within the U.S., horse racing being the specific area of gambling in question.  It is fine, said the WTO, if the U.S. wants to restrict online gambling, as long as it restricts horse racing within the country, as well.  This way, online gambling is treated equally across the board, whether the bets are going to a company overseas or within U.S. borders. 

Keep in mind that, as mentioned in the parenthetical comment in earlier, that the original WTO complaint was filed long before the UIGEA was passed.   

Antiguan Finance Minister Errol Cort was quite happy with the ruling, saying "It vindicates all that we have been saying for years about the discriminatory trade practices of the United States in this area, and we look forward to the United States opening its markets.” 

Despite Mr. Cort’s excitement, we should not expect the U.S. to all of a sudden reverse anti-gambling legislation just because the WTO says so.  The U.S. government tends to want the world to follow the rules if it is to the America’s benefit, but if the U.S. doesn’t want to play nice, it feels that it’s ok not to.   

Originally published 10:07 PM Monday, April 02, 2007