Antigua To Boost Online Casino Licensing Effort
Published: Thursday, December 01, 2005 Online-Casinos.com
ANTIGUA TO BOOST ONLINE CASINO LICENSING EFFORT
More online caisno and gambling licensees to join Caribbean jurisdiction
Antigua will continue developing its online casino and gambling industry despite
pressure from the United States to prohibit the practice, the finance minister
said this week.
Finance Minister Errol Cort said at least 10 new online casino & gambling
companies will open on the Caribbean island next year, joining 14 that already
have been granted operating licenses.
Cort said the new companies will generate some 500 new jobs and more than $2
million in gambling licenses fees.
The United States contends that Internet gambling should be prohibited because
it violates some state laws. Antigua says the U.S. position is contrary to global
trade rules and the two have clashed in the World Trade Association which has
yet to finally rule on the issue following a US appeal.
Addressing Parliament during his annual budget presentation, Cort said the government
will tightly regulate Internet gambling to meet "the most stringent international
... practices."
It is to be hoped their enforcement and dispute handling will improve as a consequence
- at present it is almost impossible to get a response from the island authorities.
