The United States will not comply with the World Trade Organization's ruling that says it's in the wrong for stopping its citizens from making online wagers with companies located in other countries.
Deputy United States Trade Representative John Veroneau on Friday said the U.S. still doesn't believe it's violating WTO rules by working to stop online gambling because U.S. officials didn't think that online gambling was considered part of a "recreation" agreement it signed more than a decade ago. Veroneau said this was clearly an oversight in the drafting of this agreement. The U.S. will modify its agreement to the WTO to clarify its stance, and it's not yet known how this will affect the ruling.
The WTO ruled in favor of Antigua in a dispute that has been going on for more than two years. A WTO panel agreed with Antigua that the U.S. is in violation with WTO rules for trying to stop its citizens from using offshore sites to make wagers. The ruling was upheld during two appeals by the U.S.
Veroneau also said that the U.S. has the right to stop online betting companies in foreign countries from doing business with Americans because it never allowed interstate online gambling to begin with.
Despite what the U.S. says, it does not totally restrict its citizens from wagering online or over the telephone across state borders. The horse race industry has always fought to allow U.S. citizens to make wagers this way. Not even the new Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act outlaws betting on horses through the Internet.
If the U.S. decided to ban interstate horse betting, then the U.S. would have the right to ban offshore gambling houses, a WTO referee said during one of the appeal hearings. There's no sign that this will happen.
Meanwhile, several politicians are in the process of presenting bills that would end the prohibition of online gambling in the U.S., further clouding the U.S. stance on online gambling and the rest of the world.
