Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Mark Mendel says the United States’ pursuance of legislation to block the access of external gaming companies to American clients has serious implications for the ongoing WTO dispute.

Mendel said the Bill goes beyond simply making financial transactions related to online gaming illegal and seeks to expressly amend the US Federal Wire Act to criminalise offshore remote gaming, while allowing US domestic remote gaming.
“As we expected, it is as contrary to the WTO decision as you could almost conceive,” Mendel told the SUN, though he added he would be surprised if the American Senate approved the bill.

On the upside of the matter, he said the legislation should make it easier to demonstrate to the WTO that the US remains non-compliant with the rulings of the WTO Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) and was actually moving in the opposite direction.

At the same time, Mendel acknowledged the continuing WTO process to be a lengthy one. In just over a week, a DSB panel would be established to review the current state of US legislation and rule on the country’s claims that it was already in compliance with the DSB’s orders.

However, Mendel noted that the entire WTO would go on a hiatus during the month of August and this stage of the Antigua and Barbuda/US dispute was not likely to get off the ground until work resumes in September.

“I think that our continued fight of this case is really the main factor internationally that legitimises what gaming operators are trying to provide. Lengthy though our case may be, I think it’s frontline in legitimising and strengthening this industry and I expect the fight to go on,” Mendel said.

The proposed US legislation is not specifically targeted at Antigua and Barbuda and would also affect a number of countries which also provide online gambling services to US clients.

The question of whether such shared concern could rally support for Antigua and Barbuda at the WTO was also put to the attorney who said he was not particularly hopeful that others may join Antigua and Barbuda on the frontline of the trade conflict with a superpower.