Gambling Dispute With a Tiny Country Puts U.S. in a Bind

GAMBLING DISPUTE WITH A TINY COUNTRY PUTS US IN A BIND
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Gavin Rivlin]
A look at Mark E. Mendel and the case he has been waging against his own government before the World Trade Organization, the body in Geneva that sets the ground rules for global trade. It is a clash that at once challenges Washington’s effort to prohibit online gambling while simultaneously testing the ability of the W.T.O. to enforce its own standards. The dispute stretches back to 2003, when Mr. Mendel first persuaded officials in Antigua and Barbuda, a tiny nation in the Caribbean with a population of around 70,000, to instigate a trade complaint against the United States, claiming its ban against Americans gambling over the Internet violated Antigua and Barbuda’s rights as a member of the W.T.O. Antigua is best known to Americans for its pristine beaches and tourist attractions like historic English Harbor. But the dozens of online casinos based there are vital to the island’s economy, serving as its second-largest employer.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/23/business/worldbusiness/23gamble.html?r...
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* Neteller hurt by US gaming crackdown
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/3f11545e-514b-11dc-8779-0000779fd2ac.html
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