EU Takes US Ban to Heart

Earlier this week the European Union together with Japan, Canada and Australia accepted compensation in the form of the lifting of trade sanctions across the US border.

However the US enforcement ban has not been lifted, meaning that foreign gaming companies still cannot operate within the US. This has been seen by many as a discriminatory violation of trade laws.

This has particularly hit the horse racing industry internationally- while in the US the gaming industry is flourishing. The EU has called for American lawmakers to level out the playing fields between the US and foreign gaming companies.

The action was filed by the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) under a provision of the European Unions Trade Barriers Regulation. The RGA represent the worlds largest remote gambling companies.

Spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative, Jeffrey Sandman said, We applaud the efforts of the RGA and agree that Congress should take action to end the current discrimination against foreign online gambling operators.

It is unfortunate that the Administration has unilaterally acted to resolve the WTO internet gambling dispute by continuing to block EU operators from accessing the US market.

Regulation of internet gambling should be supported as a means to resolve this trade dispute.