EU May Challenge US Online Gambling Restrictions - 01-31-07
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January 31 - Yesterday (January 30) the bloc's top financial regulator revealed
that United States imposed online gambling restrictions may in fact be
challenged by the European Union (EU).
Said Charlie McCreevy, EU Internal Market Commissioner in an address to the
European Parliament, 'In my view it is probably a restrictive practice and we
might take it up in another fora.'
The comments are a result of several British online gambling companies being
forced out of the American market as a direct result of an anti-online gambling
bill passed by Congress and signed into law by U.S. President George W. Bush late last year.
While the legality of online gambling in the U.S. was somewhat of a
'grey area' for many years, the anti-online gambling law has effectively put paid to many
foreign-owned online gambling
related businesses in America.
McCreevy continued by saying that the United States was protecting its own
gambling industry by stopping foreign companies from entering the online betting
sector. He has launched legal actions against several EU countries to tackle
obstacles to foreign competition.
In a move reminiscent of a George Orwell novel, last week the U.S. Justice
Department 'demanded' information from some of the world's biggest investment
banks regarding large online gambling companies such as PartyGaming Plc as one
example.
PartyGaming Plc owns and operates leading online poker room,
PartyPoker.com.
