In an opinion leader entitled ‘Time to Fold’, the WSJ predicts that a trans-Atlantic spat over online gambling may help rewrite the rules of cross-border Internet commerce.
The spat between the European Union and the United States over online gambling intensified last month when the EU launched an investigation designed to establish whether the US enforcement of anti-gambling laws violates an international trade agreement requiring US markets to be accessible.
The issue hangs on whether or not enforcement of anti-gambling laws against European online bookmakers amount to discrimination given that US authorities allow domestic operators to offer online horse race betting.
The Wall Street Journal believes the case will end up in front of a World Trade Organization panel with the US accused of transgressing international trade rules. Despite Antigua defeated the US in a similar WTO case, the United States continue to threaten foreign online gambling companies with prosecution and forfeiture, with the result that European gambling industry executives stay out of America for fear of arrest and the US ban on online betting remains in place despite its impracticality.
The WSJ opinion piece also offers tentative support for Barney Frank’s bill to legalize and regulate online gambling. “By legalizing and regulating the business, however, Washington could more effectively battle such problems as underage gambling and addiction,” said the Wall Street Journal.
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