Anthony L. Hall is a descendant of the Turks & Caicos Islands, international lawyer and political consultant - headquartered in Washington DC - who publishes his own Internet Weblog at www.theipinionsjournal.com offering commentaries on current events from a Caribbean perspective

Then, on 21 July, I wrote an article entitled Dénouement: Online gaming in Antigua (and throughout the Americas) is dead! (published here), in which I expressed regret that Antiguan authorities did not heed my advice. But I also warned that they were set on a Sisyphean task in trying to get the WTO to force the U.S. to permit financial transactions between Antiguan online gambling companies and their predominantly American customers.  In fact, I admonished Antiguan authorities as follows:

“...this [US] record of unilateralism would seem to disabuse any country (especially a relatively small one like Antigua) of any expectation that challenging the U.S. to abide by its international trade obligations would produce anything except condescending indifference...

Yet challenge the US is exactly what Antiguan Ambassador to the WTO, Dr John Ashe, did...”

I cited, amongst other factors, the political clout of Christian fundamentalists and the deep pockets of terrestrial Casino lobbyists (for campaign contributions) as two formidable reasons why the Republican-controlled US Congress would enact legislation outlawing any activity related to online gambling.

Accordingly, I urged the Antiguans to appreciate that their relying on the WTO to prevent Congress from doing so was every bit as hopeless as Africans relying on the UN to prevent Arab militias from killing them in Darfur.  That, instead, they should appeal to the Congressman pushing the legislation to carve out special exceptions for Antigua in bilateral side agreements (by arguing, inter alia, that online gambling is far more important to the Antiguan economy than lotteries are to many “red” states where Christian fundamentalists rule).

Alas, Antiguan authorities did not heed my advice. In fact, in response to my 21 July article, their American lawyers sent me a very collegial letter in which they delineated the comprehensive reasons why they remained “optimistic” that relying on the WTO would redound to Antigua’s “long-term success.”  For your edification, here’s a little of what they wrote:

“...The United States has never rejected or even questioned the legitimacy of the WTO dispute resolution process and has in all cases followed the procedures and systems to the letter.

...how could the United States convince others, particularly small economies, to join and recognise the WTO system under circumstances where a small country has played by the rules, won, and yet the United States failed to recognise the victory?”

Indeed.  And if I were any less informed about American politics, their letter would have struck me as quite persuasive; especially since it referenced – albeit as an afterthought – their efforts to “urge the United States to settle our dispute” bilaterally. 

But these lawyers evidently failed to appreciate that their approach to settling this dispute was rather like operatives for Saddam Hussein charging the Americans as warmongers at the UN as a legal strategy to halt their looming invasion of Iraq whilst urging these Americans in private to settle their dispute diplomatically. Whereas, in both cases, making direct entreaties to key players in the US, not as an afterthought but as their guiding principle, would have been the most prudent strategy to follow.

Therefore, it came as no surprise to me a couple weeks ago when Congress passed legislation which not only made financial transactions between US banks and online gambling casinos illegal but also rendered online gambling as a thriving industry in Antigua effectively out of business.

NOTE: For the record, after receiving that letter from Antigua’s lawyers, I enquired with reliable sources who worked on this legislation about their purported efforts to settle this matter.  But none of my contacts could recall these lawyers making any such overtures or, indeed, anyone lobbying Congress on behalf of the Antiguan government...