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| Online gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. (Photo: www.unoriginal.co.uk) | |
ST. JOHN'S, Antigua, March 26, 2008 - The United States (US) is expected to propose a settlement in its five-year gaming dispute with Antigua and Barbuda by next week.
Antigua and Barbuda's attorney in its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute, Mark Mendel is quoted in the Antigua Sun as saying the US should put forward their proposal by next Monday, but the twin-island nation was adopting a wait and see approach.
"I am assuming that if they are going to be good to their word, that they will have a proposal," he said, adding that Antigua and Barbuda had not put forward any guidelines about what the settlement should be.
"We're just going to see what they come up with and then re-evaluate. We have no idea what they're thinking," Mr Mendel told the newspaper.
The dispute between the two countries stems from a 2003 case in which Antigua went to the WTO claiming that the US was violating trade treaties by preventing online gambling operators in the Caribbean country from doing business in the US. The WTO ruled that US should not be allowed to ban Antigua and Barbuda's internet gaming sites, but the US failed to comply.
In December last year, the a WTO Dispute Settlement Body arbitrator awarded Antigua a settlement of US$21 million per year in trade sanctions as compensation, despite the country's claim of more significant US$3.44 billion a year.
Mendel indicated however that they were not bound by the arbitrator's decision and the two could therefore reach a bilateral agreement.
He also revealed that the expected proposal should not only address the compensation aspect of the trade dispute, but also the US' attempts to withdraw from its commitment to provide market access to the gaming sector under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
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