European online gaming companies keep up the fight

The Times Online is reporting that European online gaming companies are responding to the disappointment of a lackluster compensation deal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) by filing a discrimination complaint against the US over its Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA).

European gaming companies involved in the filing, some with online bingo operations and online bingo games products, claim the US Department of Justice is in violation of international trade law.  The US recently decided to withdraw from its WTO treaty obligations in order to maintain its UIGEA legislation which disrupts financial transactions between US customers and non-US online gaming companies.

The end result of current US policy is that domestic US online gaming companies enjoy an unfair advantage over their European counterparts.  Online bingo halls in the EU and other international bingo online operators have suffered badly in the wake of the implementation of UIGEA.

At the centre of the filing is the Remote Gaming Association (RGA) whose CEO Clive Hawkswood said: "We have been left with no choice but to pursue all legal avenues available to challenge the US Department of Justice for its discriminatory enforcement activities against European online gaming operators.

"How would US investors and businessmen feel if they invested in a business in the UK based on international law commitments, and then suddenly the UK not only passed new laws forcing them to shut down their business but tried to throw them in jail for past activities, while still allowing their domestic competitors to continue doing the same thing?" Hawkswood added.

A trade compensation deal was arrived at last Monday between the EU and the US allowing European-based gaming companies to access to the US postal and warehouse sectors as compensation for the lack of access to gaming.