By now we’re all well aware of the ban on online gambling enacted by George Bush in the States last year. We’ve read of how American companies are now targeting the U.K unwilling to fold under political pressure.
The influx of American companies to Britain threatens the home grown online gambling fraternity here but there’s another angle to the prohibitive regulations on the other side of the Atlantic.
American citizens are also banned from online gambling on British sites and the European Union says this may be illegal in international law.
Several British online gambling firms were forced out of the U.S. market as a result of last year’s developments.
"In my view it is probably a restrictive practice and we might take it up in another form," EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy told the European Parliament.
The United States was protecting its own gambling industry by stopping foreign companies from entering the online betting sector the former Irish minister for finance added
McCreevy who is known to be a massive horse racing fan believes that online gaming in Europe and further a field should be more open and less restrictive from state to state.
Despite the calls from Brussels there seems to be no let up in the hard line stance taken by the Bush administration in the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department last week demanded information from some of the world's biggest investment banks as part of the probe into online gambling companies such as PartyGaming.
The move was the latest in a U.S. crackdown on online gaming, which began with the arrest of Betonsports Scottish Chief Executive David Carruthers in Texas last July.
McCreevy later told reporters that the U.S. rules were a "prima facie" case of protectionism and that the World Trade Organisation was a possible venue for tackling them
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However, due to the WTO's protracted negotiations to secure a new world trade agreement, he would not rush to file a complaint.
"It's not something of major momentum," McCreevy said.
There have been no face-to-face talks about the issue with Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, McCreevy said.
McCreevy has launched legal actions against several EU countries (including Italy) to tackle obstacles to foreign competition.
The impact of the US protectionist policy has hit the online industry hard state side and its now firmly on its knees.
Many cannot fathom why a country which preaches freedom of choice and expression could slap such a ban of online gaming.
The ban it’s believed was demanded as a result of conservative pressure from useful lobby groups on Capitol Hill.
It’s not yet known if a change in Presidency would change the law. Whats definite though is that as long as George Bush occupies the Whitehouse the future of online gambling in America seems bleak.
British companies will be hoping though that something is done to lure prospective online giants to other destinations.
While the online gambling market continues to expand in the U.K there’s a fear within the industry that saturation point could be reached sooner than had been previously thought as a result of the American influx.
