European Union and US Government Meet, Talk about Bilateral Trade

Gambling News - July 14th, 2009 - Written by Glen

Just over a month ago, we had published a story about trade demands from the European Union regarding online gambling laws in the United States. On Monday, July 13th, the two governments finally met to discuss the issue. A press release put out by the United States Trade Representative, and a highly detailed report was released by the European Union. The Union was more in depth about the issue, providing a myriad of facts surrounding their complaint and why they made it.

According to the report, the European Union has more to lose than a few dollars from the American Market. Billions of dollars are generated each year through online gambling, and distributed throughout the entire European Union through employment opportunities and the manufactured materials used by the companies. Between customer service, marketing, and technical jobs, many Europeans are tied into the online gambling industry. With all of the computers and technologies required for online gambling, the markets have become intertwined, providing more economic potential for IT firms and the computer industry over all.

The European Union finds the actions taken by the United States through the UIGEA to be unjust and a violation of trade agreements. Commissioner Catherine Ashton took the trip to the United States in order to discuss the the issue without having to push the World Trade Organization's Dispute settlement department further.

Results were not the object of this meeting, but rather an outline of a plan of action. The meeting was simply a way to begin talks, to open up communication before action would be taken. Talks will resume in September, with the hopes of some resolution. This may not even be necessary, on the gambling front, if Barney Frank's crusade comes to fruition.