“Tiny Antigua takes on the American giant over Internet gambling rights”

The World Trade Organization’s new resolution whereby the small country of Antigua is bringing a case against the United States concerning Internet gambling has been responded to by Senator John Kyl of Arizona who is bringing in his own bill on the matter. The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act is the name of Kyl’s bill, and it aims at countering the World Trade Organization’s ruling claiming that the United States has violated the General Agreement on Trades in Services by means of its Internet gambling policy. Antigua claims that the Interstate Horseracing Act, allowing you to use Internet to bet on horseracing between states, makes distinctions partially against foreign operators of Internet gambling; and in this claim Antigua is supported by the World Trade Organization. The United States government overall position to Internet gambling is that it is illegal, however it makes an exception with the Interstate Horseracing Act. This exception to the illegality of Internet gambling would now be threatened by Senator Kyl’s bill, which aims at preventing online gambling and opposes any type of gambling including that of Interstate horseracing and any other type of gambling on the Internet, and intends to prevent any type of financial institution, credit card issuers and banks, from being involved with any transactions connected to online gambling. Consequently, this is a clear-cut lucid bill proposed by Kyl as it aims to completely take on every form of Internet gambling. Were the bill to include exceptions it would still run counter to World Trade Organization ruling, and then it would start up a chain reaction of exceptions demanded by Indian tribe gambling operators and lotteries for example. And then this would be followed by the Internet Gambling Enforcement Act authorizing a host of assorted state and federal law authorities who would, in the wake of the violation of Internet laws of gambling hunt down all potential offenders.

The lawyer Anthony Chabot, of the Las Vegas law firm Lewis and Roca, representing an array of clients involved in Internet gambling, argues that Kyl’s bill is the path to complying with the World Trade Organization’s ruling and abiding to the all trade treaties and is best implemented by adhering to Kyl’s bill. According to Chabot, Kyl’s bill is the most probable means. The bill would terminate service providers of money transactions in operating interstate betting. Furthermore, interstate horseracing has become increasingly more dependent on its ability to survive through interstate betting.

The total betting amount placed on the United States horseracing dropped in the previous year to a little more than fifteen billion dollars, and the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which issued these figures, claims that this was approximately a drop of half percentage point. The total betting sum would have probably been far less if there had been no access to Internet.

Bets on horseracing placed by players using the Internet is anticipated to reach three billion dollars this year, according to the executive vice president of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Greg Avioli. Avioli claims that the most important and speedy growth factor in this industry by any means is that of account betting. Furthermore, Avioli states that they are focusing very carefully on the bill. However, he feels sure that Kyl and additional Senators are not really interested in interfering in electronic betting and that any new accepted legislation will only be to racing’s advantageous defense.

Although other senators from various states have not succeeded in anti-Internet gambling bills this does not indicate that Kyl’s bill will have a similar result. Not like the other bills, this bill does not comprise exceptions such as gambling venues; hence the Kyl bill has a much more clear-cut tendency to the issue.

And we should also take into account the Republican Party’s dominance in government and its considerable command and vast power it wages. The electorate of the religious right has considerable influence over the Republican Party and their stand against Internet gambling.

The horseracing industry, nevertheless, also has considerable political power and it could in the near future start pulling a few political punches. Sue Schneider, Interactive Gaming News’ publisher, claims that the horseracing industry is in a state of denial in response to the hazards proposed in Kyl’s bill, and indicated that if it decided to it could contend with this situation very well. Schneider continued that they are now gradually becoming aware of the situation.