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In March 2003, the government of Antigua and Barbuda commenced the dispute resolution process of the World Trade Organization to challenge the United States’ total prohibition of cross-border gambling services offered by Antiguan operators such as the World Sports Exchange to consumers in the United States. For several months, Antigua went through a negotiation process with the United States in an effort to resolve the trade dispute. In June 2003, after the United States refused to engage in meaningful negotiations, Antigua asked the WTO to form a three-judge panel to resolve the dispute.
On March 24, 2004, the WTO ruled in favor of Antigua, finding that the US restrictions against online gambling violated international treaties. The ruling was a smashing victory for Antigua, which maintained all along that its sportsbooks and casinos were lawful businesses which were entitled to access the huge US gambling market. The WTO ruling is taking the gambling world by storm because it moves the possibility of legal online gambling closer to reality in the US and elsewhere. The US plans to appeal the ruling of the first WTO panel. The appeal is anticipated to last several months, but will be finally concluded later in 2004 by the second panel to consider the matter. The WTO case does not personally involve Jay Cohen. It is not his case, and it is not about just him. However, as Jay Cohen himself notes, his long-standing position that he did not violate the law was vindicated by Antigua's favorable ruling with the first WTO panel. This portion of the FreeJayCohen! Web site contains links to the latest information on this groundbreaking trade dispute. Antigua
and Barbuda The
United States' Trade Representative Q&A with Jay Cohen's about the WTO dispute WTO Antigua Gambling Articles Casino Notes: Net gaming still far from legal in U.S., by Joe Weinert, Press of Atlantic City, March 28, 2004 U.S. Online Gambling Policy Violates Law, W.T.O. Rules, by Matt Richtel, New York Times, March 26, 2004 Don't Celebrate Yet, by Wild Bill, The Prescription (www.therx.com) March 26, 2004 Press Release: Oxley Slams WTO Interim Rule on Internet Gambling, by Representative Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), United States House Committee on Financial Services, March 25, 2004 WTO 'net gambling details remain secret, by Liz Benston, Las Vegas Sun, March 25, 2004 Antigua beats US on online gaming: The Caribbean state of Antigua and Barbuda has beaten the US in a dispute over internet gambling, BBC News World Edition (Online), March 25, 2004 Analysis: New ruling from the World Trade Organization could open the door to Internet gambling in the US, by Allison Aubrey, National Public Radio (Transcript from All Things Considered), March 25, 2004 US Ban on Web Gambling Breaks Trade Pacts, Says WTO, by Scott Miller and Christina Brinkley, Wall St. Journal, March 25, 2004, A2 52nd Street Louie Goes Global, WTO makes the world safe for online gambling, saying U.S. laws to ban it must be struck down, Dan Ackman, Forbes, March 25, 2004 International Economy: US defeated on online gambling, by Frances Williams in Geneva and Matthew Garrahan in New York, Financial Times (UK), March 25, 2004 WTO Rules in Favor of Antigua, by Bradley Vallerius, IGamingNews (River City Group), March 25, 2004 US online gambling ban may be illegal, by John Oates, The Register (UK), March 25, 2004 Las Vegas panics as WTO rules offshore gambling legal, Inquirer (UK), March 25, 2004 U.S. Loses Early Internet Gaming Ruling, by Martin Crustinger, AP Economics Writer, Los Angeles Times, March 24, 2004 Does
U.S. Ban On E-Gambling Violate WTO? | |