Bush administration under pressure on gambling bill

In 2006, an Act of Congress in the United States paved the way for a gambling bill known as the UIGEA. The bill struck down as a shocker on thousands of gambling businesses, but more importantly, it tampered with peoples' liberties. The opposition to this bill is growing, the chairmen of two House of Representatives committees said on Monday.

House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (who introduced a bill in 2007 to allow internet gambling under adequate tax regulations), House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers and six other representatives criticized the Bush administration for its handling of the issue in a letter to the United States Trade Representative, Susan Schwab.

Rather than comply with a negative World Trade Organization ruling in a case filed by Antigua and Barbuda, the United States announced in early 2007 that it was 'clarifying' it never intended to allow off-shore firms to extend their Internet gambling services to the U.S., as part of the 1994 Uruguay Round trade pact.

If the United States is to comply with the WTO ruling, it will be forced to accept demands from trading partners who demand compensation for the United States' decision to exclude internet gambling from its market.

2007-11-20