An April 3 deadline
imposed by The World Trade Organization for the Bush administration to
clarify its stance on online gambling, in a case the WTO trade court
decided against the United States and in favor of the tiny Island of
Antigua, passed without a public response from the US government,
gaming experts are telling United Press International's The Web column.
"We haven't seen anything from them yet," Peter Marcus, a spokesman for
online gaming company, Intercasino, told The Web in an interview from
London Tuesday. "We're not really expecting anything either. This is an
election year in the U.S. The world has to appreciate it."
Last April the WTO, based in Geneva, ruled that the U.S. government was
violating international trade agreements by prohibiting U.S. banks and
Internet service providers from dealing with offshore, cyber-gambling
casinos.
Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa, and Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., have sponsored
legislation to ban all online gaming. The legislation has not passed
yet, however. There is no one, single law that bans online gaming in
the United States now, but laws used to limit gambling over telephone
lines have been cited by the U.S. Department of Justice against the
casinos.
"Only the Justice Department believes online gambling is illegal," Marcus told The Web, somewhat hyperbolically.
The scuttlebutt in the online gambling industry is that the
Republicans don't want to touch the issue, at least until after the
November elections, because tainted lobbyist Jack Abramoff had many
casinos as clients, and the GOP is in a no-win situation for the time
being, for it could appear as if it is currying favor with the casinos
if it decides for them, and could seem to be covering up past,
perceived transgressions by going against them now.
Offshore gaming enterprises are continuing to press the issue,
however. They make an economic-development argument for their
operations, claiming that their industry creates jobs for residents of
poor islands, like Antigua and Barbuda. The moneymaking claims are
supposed to trump moral questions -- about possible gambling
addictions, as well as possible tax evasion and money laundering,
raised by U.S. policymakers against Internet gambling.
"The U.S. government's interference with a multi-billion dollar
industry, and its attempts to legislate the morals of its citizens, is
simply a ploy to protect its own tax revenues by blocking the outflow
of gambling money from its shores," said Marianne Anderson, director of
marketing at USportsBook.com, an online sports wagering firm based in
Costa Rica. "And its failure to implement the decision of the WTO
further damages the country's image in the eyes of smaller nations that
look to the U.S. as a role model for international business relations."
Global trade sanctions could be imposed against the U.S. if it
does not reply to the WTO mandate, Anderson said. She would like the
U.S. to rescind all legislation that does not comply with the WTO
order. The fact of the matter is, however, that additional proposed
legislation is still before the Congress, including the Unlawful
Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2005 and the Internet Gambling
Prohibition Act. Anderson said these bills are increasing the tension
between the United States, the WTO and smaller nations.
As the United States maintains its status quo, the United Kingdom
has passed legislation legalizing online gambling, bringing it under
government regulation, said Marcus, who envisions London as becoming
the world's online gambling capital in the coming years. "They will
have policies in place to help problem gamblers," Marcus noted. "The
European Union is also saying that it is going to allow online gaming
across the continent."
A number of online casinos, or their IT security branches, have
gone public on the stock market, another gambling mechanism, but one
that is legal in the United States and overseas. Online card room
Pokerstars.com is rumored to be considering a public stock share float
this year, too.
Though it is not apparently legal -- the question is open to
interpretation of the law -- Americans are flocking to online casinos.
Marcus estimated that as of 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 2006, there
were 1.5 million Americans gambling online at global sites. "By 6:30
p.m., the number likely rose to 2 million," said Marcus.
CHICAGO, USA (UPI):
