mdklatt
11/15/2006, 11:13 PM
Most of you are aware of the recently passed ban on overseas internet gambling. This law is in compliance with another law, the Law of Unintended Consequences: http://www.slate.com/id/2153352/
The Gist
In 2003 the nation of Antigua and Barbuda--home of a large internet gambling industry--sued the US because our existing gambling laws violated WTO free trade agreements. The US used the so-called "morals defense" that allows a nation to prohibit international trade within in its own borders of products that are forbidden domestically. For example, The Netherlands can't use a free trade argument to sell marijuana in the US. The US defense was nebulous at best since we do allow domestic internet gambling.
The new law (which is largely redundant) goes into detail about which types of internet gambling are illegal and which types are legal. This is an explicit admission that internet gambling is legal domestically, which blows our morals defense out of the water and gives Antigua and Barbuda a legitimate claim. So what are their remedies? For one, they can legally disregard WTO rules in relation to the US...rules that govern intellectual property, for example. So what? This is what:
Want a cheap copy of Microsoft's latest software or a nice medical device that, annoyingly, is protected by a U.S. patent? Come to Antigua. In such a scenario, Antigua couldn't simply be ostracized as a rogue state. It would have every right under WTO rules to pursue such a course. In fact, Antigua could go down this road only in response to the United States' continuing refusal to honor its international obligations.
Way to go, Washington! How did any of these monkey dicks get re-elected?
The Gist
In 2003 the nation of Antigua and Barbuda--home of a large internet gambling industry--sued the US because our existing gambling laws violated WTO free trade agreements. The US used the so-called "morals defense" that allows a nation to prohibit international trade within in its own borders of products that are forbidden domestically. For example, The Netherlands can't use a free trade argument to sell marijuana in the US. The US defense was nebulous at best since we do allow domestic internet gambling.
The new law (which is largely redundant) goes into detail about which types of internet gambling are illegal and which types are legal. This is an explicit admission that internet gambling is legal domestically, which blows our morals defense out of the water and gives Antigua and Barbuda a legitimate claim. So what are their remedies? For one, they can legally disregard WTO rules in relation to the US...rules that govern intellectual property, for example. So what? This is what:
Want a cheap copy of Microsoft's latest software or a nice medical device that, annoyingly, is protected by a U.S. patent? Come to Antigua. In such a scenario, Antigua couldn't simply be ostracized as a rogue state. It would have every right under WTO rules to pursue such a course. In fact, Antigua could go down this road only in response to the United States' continuing refusal to honor its international obligations.
Way to go, Washington! How did any of these monkey dicks get re-elected?