EU moving towards WTO actions againts US for Internet gambling law

[The Buzz]

In news that just might propel Barney Frank's efforts to regulate the Internet gambling industry further, EU officials are saying that they will most likely be taking actions against the US for its prohibitionist stance on Internet gambling.

"It looks very much as if this matter will ... be sent to the WTO at the end of the commission's investigation," Lode Van Den Hende, outside counsel for the Remote Gambling Association, told reporters as EU officials were in Washington to probe U.S. Justice Department enforcement actions.

That would open the door for possible European sanctions on the United States, although it could take years for any case to make its way through the WTO litigation system.

An EU trade official, who briefed reporters on condition he not be identified, said he expected the European Commission to decide by the end of the year whether to start a WTO case.

The EU team, which met on Tuesday with representatives of the U.S. Trade Representative's office, the Justice Department and other U.S. agencies, will make its recommendations in a publicly available report in November, he said.

Full story from Reuters here ... http://www.reuters.com/article/inter...26130920080918