Online Casino Licenses Antigua wants money from USA

One of the most influential books ever written is undoubtedly the Bible, whose Old Testament is not only crucial to Christianity but also an essential part of the doctrine of faith for the other two Abrahamic religions, Judaism and Islam. The story between David and Goliath from this work still stands today for the struggle of two unequal opponents, in which the one, in this case David, seems to be completely subordinate to the other, and in the end, despite the alleged weakness, gains by cunning and brain-malt. This proverbial battle of a David against Goliath has now become an integral part of our linguistic usage and is also a perfect description of the long-ferocious conflict over online casinos between the small island state of Antigua and Barbuda and the much more powerful USA. For years, the state in the Caribbean has been waiting for the United States of America to finally meet its commitments under a 2004 WTO ruling, which confirmed 200, and pay off Antigua’s award of millions of US dollars. For many years it tried the island state with good words and afraid not to let this conflict break open, but now his patience seems to be torn by more than 10 years and Antigua now put the US up to the end of an ultimatum. But what actually happened?

Online gambling legislation of the USA violates WTO rules

In order to understand the conflict between these two nations, one must first take a look at the history of online casinos, because the state of Antigua and Barbuda was the first to define what an Internet casino is and what services it can offer. It was also this state, which for the first time regulated the online gambling game and issued online casino licenses. Starting in 1994 the popularity and interest in the licenses for the operation of an online casino increased rapidly and numerous providers started from Antigua their conquest campaign on the World Wide Web around the favor of the players. The rapid build-up of its own gambling industry, in this country of just 85,000 inhabitants, led to increasing conflicts with the USA, because here, except the exception of three federal states, online gambling is generally forbidden. Due to the relative proximity of the island state and the consequent development of the US market by the resident licensees and providers of online casinos in Antigua, the USA intensified its fight against the illegal business in its eyes and encapsulated its own market. The lockout of online casinos in the US led to a massive loss of jobs and companies on this island and the industry slumped from just over 100 vendors to just 40. This resulted in millions of losses for Antigua and Barbuda because the gambling sector is the second most important economic sector after tourism.

Antigua possesses a poisonous arrow in the quiver

Since 2004, the WTO has been up against the US, which was reaffirmed in 2007, but the island state of Antigua has not yet received a single penny of compensation. As is so often the case in history, the only remaining world power is always to strengthen their own right over treaties and threats to other countries, but when the pendulum declines it is simply ignored. It is certainly not easy to enforce its own right against the great USA for such a small country in the Caribbean, but the WTO, with its then Antigua judgment, has given a means which can also hurt the power of the world and also a Precedent. In the World Trade Organization verdict of 2004, the island state was authorized to withdraw the money on the abolition of copyright on American inventions in the absence of compensation payments. This means that Antigua can at any time use the patents and intellectual property of American companies worth $ 21 million annually without having to pay any patent fees or any other counter-performance. For example, the small state could reprint, or even produce and market, films, books, or even drugs without the US being able to intervene. Up to now, Antigua had not used this means to prevent a possible trade war with the USA. But now, Prime Minister Gaston Browne seemed to have burst the Hutschnur, because he now gave the US an ultimatum, which now to settle over 250 million dollars accumulated debt finally at small island state, or he would use the right of the abolition of the copyright in the future do.