Antigua Says Resolution To Online Poker Dispute With U.S. To Come Next MonthCountry's More Than Decade-Long Dispute To Finally End |
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A 12-year-old dispute between the United States and the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda appears to finally be coming to an end.
In the early 2000s, the U.S. effectively banned the country’s lucrative online gambling industry from doing business with Americans. Antigua and Barbuda said that its regulated online gambling sites contributed $3 billion to its economy. The country eventually brought the matter to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in favor of Antigua and Barbuda and said the U.S. unfairly discriminated against the licensed sites.
The WTO said in 2007 that the country deserves $21 million annually from the U.S., but that penalty never went into effect. Fast forward to 2013, and the WTO granted permission for Antigua and Barbuda to take digital content from apparently any U.S. firm without paying them. That also never was implemented.
According to a report last week from the Antigua Observer, Antigua and Barbuda expect the issue to finally be resolved in January, though specifics of the agreement haven’t been made public yet. Foreign Affairs Minister Charles ‘Max’ Fernandez gave comments that the latest proposal from the U.S. has been reviewed by the government.
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda are taking steps to ensure a new casino from actor Robert DeNiro and Australian casino tycoon James Packer becomes a reality. A new bill recently put forward incentives for the pair to build the $250 million resort,
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