EU Online Gambling Firms Push for WTO Case Against US

Sept 18 - It seems that for many European-based online gambling firms 'enough is enough' and they are pushing for an ongoing dispute surrounding the United States' seemingly 'hypocritical' and 'self-serving' online gambling policies to be escalated to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

After US Congress passed a bill (UIGEA) in October 2006 that effectively banned online gambling in the country, European online gambling firms lost billions of dollars in market value. UIGEA made it illegal for US banks and credit card companies to process online gambling-related payments.

Even though many of Europe's largest listed online gambling firms - including 888.com and PartyGaming - withdrew from the United States as a result of the ban, today they still face potential criminal prosecution from the US Justice Department for online gambling activities prior to October 2006.

As such, the European Commission (EC) launched a formal investigation in March this year to discover whether the US government is singling out EU-based online gambling companies for law enforcement actions while allegedly allowing their domestic online gambling companies to operate freely.

This investigation may result in the matter being referred to the WTO which could open the door for possible European sanctions to be put in place against the United States. However, it could be many years before the case against the United States makes its way through the WTO litigation system.

An EU trade official recently announced that the EC is expected to reach a decision by the end of the year whether to launch a WTO case on behalf of the EC against the United States.

This week the EU team met with representatives of the US Trade Representative's office, the US Justice Department and other US agencies to discuss the matter in greater detail.

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