(Associated Press via NewsEdge) The US will use a World Trade Organization procedure to clarify its ban on online gambling, a government official said, in response to the threat of trading members seeking payment for lost revenue.
Many companies say they were caught off-guard when President Bush signed a measure into law in October, prohibiting US banks and credit card companies from processing payments to online gambling businesses outside the country.
The ban prompted companies, such as Sportingbet and Leisure & Gaming, to sell their US operations.
The $12 billion Internet gambling industry is based outside the US, mostly in Britain, although half of its customers live in the USA.
A WTO panel opened the door in March to commercial sanctions against the US, ruling that the new law unfairly targets offshore casinos. The twin island nation of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean, for example, argues that online gambling had been providing income for hundreds of its citizens.
The Geneva-based global trade referee said Washington could restrict online gambling as long as the restrictions apply equally to US companies offering offshore betting on horse racing.
Earlier, Deputy US Trade Representative John K. Veroneau said federal and state laws have prohibited for-profit interstate gambling operations for decades. 'It would be nonsensical for the US to make a commitment to open up interstate gambling for foreign providers.'
Veroneau said the WTO process allows the US to clarify its restrictions to 'recreational services' offered internationally.
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