EU urges US to change internet gambling law

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 9 Nov 2007 at 08:00

The US must change an internet gambling law that discriminates against European companies by preventing them from offering services in the US market, says the European Union's top trade official.

"What we need to see is a change in US legislation that removes that discrimination against EU operators," says EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson.

"It's not in the interest of American consumers to have good responsible competitors in this market excluded by regulatory mechanisms."

The European Union and other trading partners have been in compensation talks with the US over Washington's decision to retroactively remove gambling services from the market-opening commitments it made as part of the 1994 Uruguay Round world trade agreement.

The US took that step after the World Trade Organization ruled in a case brought by the tiny Caribbean nation Antigua and Barbuda. Congress has since passed a broader online gambling ban.

EU-based gambling firms have urged the bloc to seek as much as $100 billion in compensation for being shut out of the US market.

"When a member of the WTO defaults on its commitments, compensation is due. That's the case of online gambling," says Mandelson.

"We're in talks about the magnitude of that compensation. I think what we're asking for is reasonable and realistic. The numbers aren't quite as large as has been advertised, but they need to be substantial."