美国当局拒绝安提瓜提出真钱网络游戏纠纷的索赔(2)

　　译文：

　　US AUTHORITIES REJECT ANTIGUA'S CLAIMS IN ONLINE GAMING DISPUTE

　　US authorities have protested against Antigua and Barbuda's attempts to collect damages from the US in a WTO dispute involving the United States reluctance to legalize real money online casino gaming.

　　Antigua and Barbuda announced that it would pursue the damages awarded to the small island nation by the WTO in 2007 in regards to the United States' refusal to legalize real money online gaming. Antigua expects to recover more than $100 million that should have been paid by the US since 2007.

　　The WTO ruled in 2007 that the United States violated an international WTO treaty （GATS） that entered into force in 1995 and among others states that the US is obliged to allow Antigua-based （and any offshore based） online casino operators to offers their services in the country.

　　According to Antigua and the WTO, the US has broken the provisions of this treaty by implementing the 2006 UIGEA and effectively preventing foreign online casino companies' access to the market. As such, the WTO ruled in 2007 that the US is obliged to pay Antigua damages of $21 million per year until it decides to legalize real money online gaming.

　　The United States has until now refused to pay anything at all and as such Antigua and Barbuda is prepared to reintroduce the matter to the WTO's dispute-settlement slate during January 2013. This comes after in December 2012 the island nation failed to convince the WTO to take action.

　　As a response to this threat, US officials explained that Antigua's claims are unfounded since the US never intended to legalize real money online gaming even before the adoption of the named WTO treaty in the '90s. They argue that they were unaware that the WTO treaty in question also had references to online gambling.

　　US officials explained that the "United States never intended [gambling and betting services] to be included in its schedule under the General Agreement on Trade in Services （GATS）。"

　　They added that "Antigua has no justification for taking any retaliatory actions against the United States. If Antigua actually proceeds with a plan for its government to authorize the theft of intellectual property, it would only serve to hurt Antigua's own interests."

　　Antigua and Barbuda was the online casino gaming hub of the Americas before the US decided to go against foreign online casino operators. In the early 2000s a bulk of the real money online gambling operators active in North America were located in Antigua.

　　The United States' decision to clamp down on foreign online casino gaming companies is said to have seriously affected the small island nation's economy due to many of the largest gaming companies' decision to relocate to European jurisdictions instead.