EU probes U.S. online gambling crackdown

[Nandakishore]

Reuters reports that the European Union has started an investigation today to find out whether the US ban on foreign gambling companies violates international rules. This might be a step towards initiating a WTO action.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23560417/

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Nandakishore
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[helpyou]

It is interesting news.

I am agree :

“The U.S. has the right to address legitimate public policy concerns relating to Internet gambling, but discrimination against EU companies cannot be part of the policy mix”

[The Buzz]

More on this from the BBC ...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7288365.stm

[The Buzz]

Burke Hansen at The Register has weighed in on this too ... and explains why the EU is doing this, despite the agreement that had been made in December.

Although the European Commission reached an agreement with the United States in December on compensation for America’s unilateral withdrawal from its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) gambling commitments - an agreement widely ridiculed as selling the European internet gambling industry down the river - the American Department of Justice (DOJ) continues to investigate the activities of European firms prior to that withdrawal, when European companies such as PartyGaming arguably had the right to sell gaming services to American customers.

The December agreement thus appears to cover compensation going forward, without redress for past wrongs, which is why the DoJ is still on the prowl for European internet gambling companies and the EU Trade Commission is still pursuing potential WTO claims. The passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in the summer of 2006 and increased enforcement thereafter devastated the European online gambling industry - the total market value of the publicly traded companies dropped by half. SportingBet dumped its American unit for a dollar.

Full story here ... http://www.channelregister.co.uk/200...ambling_probe/