American Anti-Gaming Law Causes International Flap

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun 18, 2007 -
Miami, Florida--06/17/07-- Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act causes international flap. The tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda slapped the crap out of the US last week. By trying to stamp out online gambling the US is in violation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Antigua and Barbuda are attempting to get both China and the European Union (EU) to impose trade sanctions on the US. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) passed by Congress (secretly added to a Port security bill) makes it illegal for financial institutions to process money for internet gambling. The U.S. ban on offshore online gambling casinos is protectionist. It protects their horse racing tracks and sucker-bet state lotteries.

The WTO in April ruled the U.S. position on online gambling violated the General Agreement on Trades in Services (GATS) treaty. As long as US Senators and Congressmen get their “cut” of lotto money and race track money, they will continue to defy the WTO. They have to go where the kickbacks are. “This astounding and unprecedented action by the US opens up a whole new chapter in the WTO jurisprudence, which runs contrary to the object and purpose of the GATS,” blasted Antigua’s minister of finance and the economy, Dr. Errol Cort. What Dr. Cort doesn’t understand is that you have to slip US politicians money under the table and behind closed doors in order for them to see things your way. Honesty, it seems, only lives in online gaming software, not in Congress which is on the take. UIGEA and its
enforcement are ambiguous and will remain so on purpose. It gives the US government leeway to enforce the law as they see fit, not by any rules or written regulations.

A dubious group known as Focus on the Family is pressuring the president to put a stop to all internet gambling in the US. Why? To protect the children, of course!!! Make sense? Of course not. This group hasn’t taken any such step to put a stop to state lotteries. In order to gamble online, the player first needs to have a credit card or funds deposited with a 3rd party financial institution. Not many minors have this capability, if any. However, any kid can walk into a Seven-Eleven and buy lottery tickets. Yes, Focus on the Family is an exercise in hypocrisy.

For more information on UIGEA log onto Online-Gambling-Made-Easy.com. It may not be the last gambling site you visit, but it should be your first.


Media Contact:
Bob Lane
E-Mail: Online72@ Online-Gambling-Made-Easy.com
Web Site: http://www. Online-Gambling-Made-Easy.com