Antigua May Claim $7 Billion in Online Poker & Internet Gambling Case Against USA

Antigua and Barbuda's claims in the World Trade Organization (WTO) online poker and gambling dispute against the United States could be USD $7 billion (EUR 5.1 billion, or GBP 3.5 billion) or more, warns the tiny Caribbean country's WTO attorney, Mark Mendel.

WTO ruled in favor of Antigua in April 2005 supporting their assertion that the US was preventing foreign Internet gambling firms from doing business with US residents, which was against the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which all WTO members signed, allowing international market access in the areas of gambling and betting services.

In a final appeal judgment March 2007, WTO again ruled in favor of Antigua. WTO pointed out that the US supported US-based Internet gambling on horse betting, sports fantasy. And especially with passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) they were blocking foreign Internet gambling firms, so were in direct conflict with the GATs Agreement.

After the final judgment, instead of complying and opening the US to foreign Internet gambling, America decided to withdraw from its GATS commitment (click here for related article).

Under the GATS Agreement, WTO members are entitled to file claims for business they lost and will lose as a result of such a withdrawal by another WTO member.

The European Union has filed a $15 billion claim against the US. Additional claims have been filed by Canada, Japan, Macau, Costa Rica and India (click here for related article).

In June, Antigua and Barbuda initiated an effort to impose trade sanctions valued at US$3.4 billion annually on the United States, filing a claim for concessions primarily through the suspension of Antigua's copyrights, trademarks, industrial designs and patents obligations to the US (click here for related article).

"The US$3.4 billion is just what we're entitled to by virtue of them not having complied with the decision," Mendel told the Antigua Sun, explaining that Antigua has not yet filed a claim to address the GATS withdrawal issue.

Mendel told the SUN that he met with representatives from the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), at their request, at the beginning of the month. He said that the meeting, however, led to no progress.

This Friday, their representatives go back to the WTO to present a justification of the $3.4 billion sanction it officially sought to claim last month.

Mendel told the SUN that the amount in sanctions was "completely defensible."

"It's a massive number but, after talking to the economists and going through everything, it is a very realistic number," Mendel said. He acknowledged that the figure is several times Antigua and Barbuda's GDP, but pointed to the massive wealth created for Antigua and Barbuda and its online gambling companies by the industry, wealth which Mendel said has been almost destroyed by the actions of the US.

"We haven't even told them what that claim [to address the GATS withdrawal issue] will be yet. The only thing I told them is it’ll be at least as big as our other claim," Mendel said.

He said this means that Antigua and Barbuda's total claims against the US could reach and even surpass USD $7 billion.

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