Antigua May Use ‘Unspecified Means’ to Force US Hand in Online Gambling Dispute

The Caribbean island nation of Antigua raised the stakes Wednesday in its long standing World Trade Organization dispute with the US Government over its policies on Internet gambling.

Antigua Finance Minister Harold Lovell spoke during an online gambling conference in Las Vegas making it abundantly clear that the US is ignoring rulings since 2004 by the World Trade Organization, and is using a U.S. ban on interstate Internet gambling to block what Lovell calls legitimate commerce from his Caribbean nation.

Lovell suggested that Antigua may use “unspecified methods” to affect American businesses if the dispute isn't resolved.  The implication here, some experts surmise, is that Antigua could soon become a safe haven for piracy websites, something Lovell nor the Antiguan government have embraced up to now and have never explicitly suggested they would. 

Lovell’s comments also come at a time when the US Government has filed a dispute with the WTO over what it deems China’s improper subsidizing exports of automobiles and auto parts.

Antigua is home to the popular online gambling websites Bodog/Bovada and Intertops, both of which still take online bets from US citizens.  It was the very first nation to begin licensing Web gambling sites and sports betting call centers dating back to 1996.  It's very first licensed betting business, Carib Sports, still operates today from the Central American nation of Belize. 

One of Antigua’s first licensed wagering businesses was Sports Off Shore, run by Robert Eremian, the brother-in-law of Massachusetts Congressman John Tierney.  Eremian is wanted by US law enforcement on a tax conviction and is still believed to reside on the Caribbean island. 

- Gilbert Horowitz, Gambling911.com