SSIGI says US should pass IGREA

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“This is by far the most significant WTO case ever and its implications for both the US and the EU are enormous,” said Naotaka Matsukata, former US director of policy planning, at a press conference in Brussels yesterday.

Also present at the press conference were Lode Van Den Hende, a Brussels-based trade lawyer, Raul Herrera, a Washington-based lawyer, and Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association.

“The US$3.4bn claim by Antigua and the much larger claim of over US$100bn by the seven other economies seeking compensation are some of the largest penalties in the history of the WTO,” said Matsukata. “Given the size of the US gaming market, both the potential benefit for European industry and the corresponding potential damage to US companies is unprecedented.”

The Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative advised for the passage of the IGREA. Said Jeffrey Sandman, spokesperson for the SSIGI: “Rather than face paying billions in trade compensation, the US should embrace the legislative solution presented by the Frank bill.”

The US has threatened to withdraw from its WTO commitments, which would discredit the US and undermine the WTO agreements that the US helped create.