From the Financial Times today:


Hopes of European online gaming companies of re-entering the lucrative US market were dealt a blow yesterday after the striking of a translantic trade deal.

The European Commission won trade concessions from the US in the services secotr in compensation for the effective ban on online companies from the operating in the American market. The US also reached the agreement with Canada and Japan.

The EU said the bilateral deal would provide European businesses, inclding TNT of the Netherlands and Deutsche Post of Germany, with new opportunities in the US postal and courier, research and development, storage and warehouse sectors.

The US had also made concessions in the testing and analysis services sector. Details of the concessions were not disclosed.

The deal, signed in Geneva, disappointed the online gambling industry, which claimed the EU had lost vital leverage in the effort to open the US online gambling market.

The World Trade Organisation had ordered the US to grant compensation after it withdrew a liberalisation commitment.

Clive Hawkswood, chief executive of the Remote Gambling Association, which represents groups which say they are losing at least $4bn in revenue a year, said the EU had handed over its primary weapon in the fight.

Millions of dollars were wiped off share values in October 2006 after the US made it illegal for credit card companies to process online gambling transactions.

Shares in PartyGaming were down 5.8 per cent yesterday and Sportingbet fell 3.4 per cent.

A spokesman for Peter Mandelson, tje trade commissioner, said he would continue to press for equal treatment in the US online gambling market.


Cliff notes: European companies get compensated. Bye bye Party Poker.

gogogo Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act

Bump, this is serious news.

I read "deal blow" in the title and expected an awesome tr

I hope Antigua gets all pissed and starts making Metallica cds and Lars and James throw a hissy-fit. That'll learn the US.

There are too many errors in this for me to take it seriously.

Just quoted it from the paper. If there are any spelling errors that would be my fault as I copied it quickly