Gambling News

"Who Was Really the Winner from the WTOs Gambling Decision?"

It is impossible to enforce the law that makes playing and operating Internet gambling sites illegal in the US.

The reason for the total confusion over the WTO’s ruling is that the WTO agreed with the both the U.S.’s “public morals” defense, and with Antigua and Barbuda’s claim that American policies on online gambling are in violation of free trade practices. Both sides are claiming victory and no one seems to understand who won.

The recent WTO ruling on whether or not the U.S. ban on Internet gambling violates free trade agreements has many people in the online gambling industry wondering which side is favored by the ruling. Originally, the tiny island nations of Antigua and Barbuda claimed that the U.S. ban on Internet gambling is inconsistent and discriminates against foreign operators. Supporting this claim, lawyers for the two nations pointed out that in some states online betting on horse racing is allowed as long as operators of the site are authorized by American states and that land-based gambling is legal in some American states as well. This co-called double standard effectively prevents foreign online casino operators from access to U.S. gamblers, the largest gambling customer base. The U.S., on the other hand, argued that is has the right and the obligation to ban Internet gambling in order to protect the “public order” and “public morals” of its citizens.

However, it is unlikely that the ruling will have much impact on the online gambling industry, as the U.S. will continue to ban Internet gambling by finding ways to circumvent the WTO ruling, and foreign operators will have to continue profiting from American players who account for roughly one half of the $10 billion in annual gambling revenues.

Even though American laws makes it illegal for American citizens to both play and operate Internet gambling sites, the law is virtually impossible to enforce for a variety of reasons. Moreover, many states that allow land-based gambling are in favor of allowing online gambling as well. Also, some experts point out that it would make more sense if the U.S. permitted American firms to compete against foreign Internet gambling firms and at the same time regulated the industry and taxed the revenues.

The Australian government already does this and the UK is planning to so too. It seems that the U.S. will soon have to adopt similar policies.

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