Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador John Veroneau is expected to arrive in Antigua and Barbuda today to begin high-level talks with Minister of Finance and the Economy, Dr. Errol Cort, on the longstanding trade battle between the two countries over internet gambling. According to a statement released yesterday by the Ministry of Finance, Ambassador Veroneau will lead a six-member high-level delegation from the United States...

Mit dem gewohnten Spektakel wurde am Donnerstag um 12 Uhr Ortszeit Las Vegas das letzte Turnier der World Series of Poker 2008 eingeläutet. „Mr. Las Vegas" Wayne Newton persönlich sprach mit viel Hingabe die magischen Worte „shuffle up and deal" und ab ging die wilde Fahrt bei der USD 10.000 World Championship Texas No-Limit Hold'em - allerdings mit enttäuschenden 1.297 zahlenden Gästen. Natürlich werden an den drei folgenden Starttagen am Wochenende wesentlich mehr Teilnehmer erwartet

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was informed yesterday that Antigua and Barbuda and the United States had agreed to another deferral of arbitration proceedings, as the two countries seek to finalise a bilateral agreement that would bring years of conflict over the Internet gambling industry to an end. Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort yesterday told the Antigua Sun that the parties have agreed to a further extension of their talks to 11 July.

Washington and St John's have set a new deadline of Friday to resolve their dispute over Internet gambling, according to Antigua's top finance official. Antigua accuses the United States of crippling its gambling industry by banning Americans from placing online bets with gambling operators, including those based in the twin-island country of just 70,000 inhabitants.

George Bush administration is illegally withholding details of its World Trade Organization (WTO) online gambling deal with the European Union claims a lawsuit filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Following a 2007 WTO ruling which authorized trade sanctions against the United States for failing to confirm its gambling laws to WTO rules, the Bush administration announced that it would remove the gambling sector from its WTO obligations.

Der "Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act" (UIGEA) von 2006 hat PartyGaming gezwungen alle seine Aktivitäten in den USA einzustellen und keine Einsätze von US-Bürgern mehr anzunehmen. Das hat das Unternehmen fast dreiviertel ihrer Kunden gekostet, der Umsatz ist um mehr als 60% eingebrochen und man schlitterte in die roten Zahlen. Jetzt erst, im ersten Quartal 2008, konnten wieder erste Gewinne erzielt werden, mehr darüber unter PartyGaming wächst im 1.Quartal 2008.

It may have been offered after the World Trade Organization deadline, but it appears that the United States has at last proposed a settlement in its protracted WTO dispute with the Antigua and Barbuda government. The Antigua Sun newspaper is currently reporting that the Caribbean island government is soon to make a statement "...that a proposal for the resolution of the trade dispute received from the U.S. last week has not been met favourably."

The deadline for the US to put forward a proposal to settle its long running Internet gambling dispute passed last Monday with Antigua and Barbuda reportedly receiving no word from the US. Up to late last Monday, neither Antigua and Barbuda's attorney in the matter Mark Mendel nor the local Directorate of Gaming had received any communication on the matter from US officials.

A settlement proposal due by the end of the month could put an end to the five-year trade battle over Internet gaming between Antigua and Barbuda and the United States. According to Mark Mendel, Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney in its World Trade Organisation (WTO) dispute, the US is scheduled to put forward a proposal for the settlement of both aspects of the trade dispute by next Monday.

Costa Rica achieved US to allow the provision of several services such as investigations, postcards and storage to local firms as an agreement to a negotiation initiated by limitations imposed by the US nation to games of chance and online bets. Minister of Foreign Trade, Marco Vinicio Ruiz, explained Tuesday that "We achieved what we wanted; and that is that a country that changes the rules of the game in the middle of a negotiation, must compensate the others".

Antigua and Barbuda’s attorney at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Mark Mendel says he does not expect December’s disappointing USD 21 million arbitrated award to affect the results of a second arbitration process between the two countries. Late last month Antigua and Barbuda filed a notice at the WTO requesting arbitration on the issue of the US declaration that it is withdrawing from its General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitment that allows trade access in respect of remote gaming.

The international Internet gambling dispute continues. Costa Rica and Antigua separately filed for World Trade Organization arbitration, seeking compensation from the United States as a result of the US withdrawal of its commitment on cross-border gambling services. The new arbitration requests could potentially derail the settlement for compensation agreed to late last year by the US and the EU.