EU requested meetings with U.S.

Just one week away from a scheduled meeting with the European Union about current online gaming regulations, the U.S. has postponed the trade talks. The EU requested the meetings because they feel the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) is in violation of a treaty laid out by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The two sides were supposed to come together this week in Washington, D.C. Information pertaining to a rescheduled meeting have yet to be released. In late June - the EU notified the United States that it was seeking compensation for the US protectionist ban on foreign online gambling *including online poker* sites, which goes against trade agreements that WTO members, including the USA, signed. Major EU-based companies such as PartyGaming (owner of Party Poker), 888 Holdings (owner of Pacific Poker) Sportingbet PLC (owner of Paradise Poker), and Leisure & Gaming PLC (owner of Betshop Poker) had to exit the lucrative U.S. market last October when Washington passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which made it illegal for financial institutions such as banks and credit card companies to process payments from US residents to online gambling businesses. Without half or more of the online players from the USA, such companies lost half of an estimated market worth USD $15.5 billion (11.6 billion Euros, 7.78 billion GBP) last year. The island nation of Antigua and Barbuda challenged US laws blocking non-US internet gaming companies from operating inside US borders back in 2004. It argued that US trade officials had signed the 1995 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) treaty, allowing foreign entrants into its lucrative online gaming market. In December of last year - the WTO awarded the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda $21 million annually from the US, in hopes of settling an online gaming dispute. In addition to the cash, the ruling granted Antigua and Barbuda the right to ignore US copyright restrictions, allowing them to sidestep protections and distribute American music, movies and software. Soon after, the U.S. announced that it would withdraw online gaming from its WTO commitments. The reason behind the delay is not known.