April 24 - Dr. Errol Cort, the Caribbean state Antigua's Minister of Finance
and Economy, said that the latest developments regarding online gambling
in the United States were being followed very closely by his government,
especially since it could impact his country's economy in such a huge way.
A majority of Antigua's population was directly affected by the United
States' exclusionist policy regarding online gambling, which came to a head with
the passing of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act in 2006.
In an interview with the Antigua Sun, Cort commented on a recent
Congressional hearing in the US, where financial institutions expressed their
utter frustration with the wording of the UIGEA and the sheer impossibility of
implementing the rules. "I'm not surprised by the position taken by the American
Banking Association and other interest groups, because the legislation seems to
be quite onerous," said Cort. "It seems to put a lot of burden on the banking
sector to be policeman for the Congress and the banks are pushing back in
respect to that particular situation."
"The matter is very fluid. We are watching it because if that bit of
legislation is operationalized, it would really cause serious, serious
difficulties for the industry - so we have a very keen interest in the matter."
Meanwhile, Mark Mendel, the attorney representing Antigua and Barbuda in the
David and Goliath type case that the tiny island state brought against the
United States through the World Trade Organization, said that he was interested
in seeing a change in attitude in the US that would ultimately accept a
regulated online gambling industry.
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