The huge thorn laying in the side of  the global online gambling community may have finally been shifted, as the World Trade Organisation ruled over those US laws which were put in place to prohibit any cross border gambling as a break in industry trade rules. This comes following a preliminary judgement that was set about in March, confirming it much to the delight of many punters.

The carribean is currently hosting many online gaming houses and it was these casinos that bought forward the case.  However, the US government refuse to give up and are planning to appeal and change the laws back, much to the dismay of many entrepeneurs and gamblers alike.

David does it again to Goliath

It is not just  those at the top of the ladder who fear law change, in Antigua and Barbuda, over 4% of the population (3000 people) are employed through  online gambling providing a huge advantage to their economy.  The ruling has only aided the stabilisation of this economy.

The recent judgement which was written by 3 independant people notes that the original US law was in breach of a 1994 worldwide deal that liberalised trade in services.

Quoting a survey suggesting America was home to half the worldwide online gambling market, the islands' government said it had won a David and Goliath fight, and insisted it had tried to reach a negotiated settlement only to be rebuffed by the US government five times.

The US shock

Based on federal law brought about in the 60's it was originally only designed with respect to phone bets, although theargument now brought about by the US is the international money laundering that may occur. Children using their parents credit cards was also brought up by the US government to refute the law but was turned down by the WTO.

Antigua and Barbuda have over 1,800 online gameing operations, which represents a  significant chunk of the worlds online gaming.