ISLANDERS MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE ONLINE GAMBLING WITH U.S. OFFICIALS

(542) (28-September-2006)

Antiguan team will be in Washington this week in yet another attempt to negotiate WTO crisis

The Caribbean island government of Antigua and Barbuda will make another attempt next week to bring about a change in the unequal and hardline attitude toward online gambling currently taken by the U.S. government.  America's stance on the issue of internet gambling is likely to be at the top of the agenda during the visit by a delegation to Washington, according to Tax-News.

The delegation, led by Minister of Finance Dr Errol Cort , has been holding a series of meetings with representatives of the US Department of State, the US Trade Representative, the Department of Justice and with Members of Congress, in an attempt to resolve the impasse over the American government's refusal to comply with a WTO ruling against US actions preventing banks from processing transactions from online gaming firms based in the islands.

As one of the world's most popular e-gaming domiciles, the issue is viewed as crucial to the tiny jurisdiction's economic survival; Antigua-based operators are thought to account for 25 percent of the estimated $12 billion wagered online by American punters every year.

However, subsequent developments will also have alarmed Antigua, such as the June 1st indictment against BetonSports, effectively shutting down the company which ran its US internet business from Costa Rica and Antigua, the subsequent arrest of Sportingbet chairman Peter Dicks on a Louisiana state warrant and the approval by the House of Representatives of an internet gaming prohibition bill, which toughens sanctions against companies offering online gaming services from offshore locations.