CARICOM OFFICIALLY SUPPORTS ANTIGUA IN W.T.O. DISPUTE WITH THE U.S.

20 July 2007

Caribbean nations express solidarity with Antigua and support for Frank proposal to regulate online gambling

The Conference of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), at its recent meeting in Barbados, expressed its appreciation and pledged its support for the efforts of Congressman Barney Frank and his legislation to regulate Internet gambling in the United States, says a press release this week from the orgnaisation.

The 15 CARICOM member countries further pledged to work with US members of Congress who introduced bills to regulate and enforce Internet gaming and expressed continued support for Antigua and Barbuda in their claim for compensation from the U.S. for World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade agreement violations involving Internet gambling.

Commenting on he release, Jeffrey Sandman of the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative said: "CARICOM's endorsement of Congressman Frank's Internet gambling bill is another significant indication that the U.S. must readdress the way it now treats Internet gambling. Rather than face billions in trade sanctions for WTO violations, we hope that members of Congress will instead regulate Internet gambling in order to comply with the WTO, better protect consumers and generate billions of dollars for important government programs."

The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act, introduced by Congressman Barney Frank, seeks to strictly regulate Internet gambling and require domestic and foreign online gambling operators to obtain a license and put in place safeguards to protect against underage and compulsive gambling and ensure the integrity of financial transactions.

The member states of CARICOM are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

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