Costa Rica will join World Trade Organization (WTO) members: European Union (EU), Antigua & Barbuda, India and Japan in seeking compensation from the United States, according to reports on Point-Spreads, relating to Washington's removal of online gambling and online poker from its trade obligations, after the WTO repeatedly ruled that Washington's ban on remote Internet gambling violates WTO trade agreements that the United States signed.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic party plans to legalise casino gambling next year. Seiko Noda, who heads an LDP study group that is drafting the legislation, said the target was to pass a bill by the end of the next ordinary Diet session in June 2008. The ruling party hopes casinos will spur tourism, help revitalise local economies and increase tax revenues. Opening up Japan to casinos is also likely to provide big opportunities for foreign operators, as few Japanese companies have the expertise necessary to develop the large-scale operations being envisioned.

Today, former New York Senator Alfonse D'Amato, chairman of the Poker Players Alliance, released the statement below. The former Senator's comments are in response to the European Union's support of Antigua's ruling against the United States and claim for compensation based on the U.S.'s violation of its World Trade Organization commitments.

At last year's online gambling convention, there was a three-storey bar staffed by augmented blondes in miniskirts and orbited by casino execs toasting their future riches. In its place this year is a booth with pamphlets on gambling addiction. The annual Global Interactive Gaming Summit & Expo in Montreal is a whisper of its past incarnations, thanks to recent u.s. regulations banning gaming.

Washington -- Indian gambling pulled in USD 25 billion in 2006, 11 percent more than the year before as the industry's explosive growth outpaced Las Vegas. Federal figures announced Monday, compiled from 387 tribal facilities in 28 states, show Indian gambling revenue has nearly doubled in five years. Indian casinos brought in USD 12.8 billion from gambling in 2001, USD 22.5 billion in 2005 and USD 25.1 billion in 2006, according to the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Conrad Enill, reaffirmed the Government’s opposition to casino gambling as he moved an umbrella Finance Bill in the House of Representatives on Friday. The Bill amends the 1963 Gambling and Betting Act to specifically add slot-machines to the list of gambling activities banned by the Act. Enill said the change now “removes any ambiguity” over slot machines which through the Bill are considered to be gambling machines under the 1963 Act.

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic party plans to legalise casino gambling next year. Seiko Noda, who heads an LDP study group that is drafting the legislation, said the target was to pass a bill by the end of the next ordinary Diet session in June 2008. The ruling party hopes casinos will spur tourism, help revitalise local economies and increase tax revenues.

Geneva: The tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda slammed the United States over its illegal restrictions on Internet gambling sites based overseas and asked other countries to join in seeking compensation from Washington for its failure to comply with global trade rules. Antigua, the smallest country to successfully litigate a case in the World Trade Organization's 12-year-history.

The State of Texas currently does not allow casino gambling, but if State Senators John Corona of Dallas and Rodney Ellis of Houston have their way, voters will be able to decide in December whether to allow casinos in the state. The new bill, which has been proposed by these two senators, would allow voters to decide the future of gambling in the state.

The Licensing Committee will not renew or grant any new certificates to private members club until the issue with Golden Entertainment Members Club is resolved. So said committee chairperson Senior Magistrate Lianne Lee Kim at the Port of Spain Fourth A Magistrate's Court on Thursday. Objections have been filed by the Association of Members Clubs, members of the Union of Lottery and Club Workers, a group of concerned citizens and a pastor, against the granting of a certificate to Golden Entertainment which will allow them to operate a gambling facility.

The European Commission is heading for a fresh showdown over France’s gaming laws amid a threat to ban a cycling team from the Tour de France because it is sponsored by an online bookmaker. Charlie McCreevy, Europe’s Internal Market Commissioner, has expressed support for the Malta-based gambling company Unibet in its clash with the organisers of the world’s most famous cycle race.

Representative Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced legislation that would allow online gambling in the U.S., loosening a ban enacted last year. The measure would allow Americans to bet online with licensed Internet operators that have safeguards against underage and compulsive gambling and agree to be subject to U.S. jurisdiction and taxes, Frank said at a press conference in Washington.