Antigua Unlikely to Be Reimbursed by the United States

Although the online casinos in United States are likely to be legalized soon, there are old ghosts hunting gambling in the Land of the Free.

One of these is a shut down of Bodog, an online gambling destination catering to the American players. The other is a forced closure by the Department of Justice of Full Tilt Poker, one of the sites offering ways to play online poker in USA.

In the case of Bodog, its owner, the billionaire Calvin Ayre, is fighting the US in the court with top notch lawyers. In the case of Full Tilt, other investors were seeking to acquire it. Even the rumors have it that Poker Stars may want to buy it. But, the US Department of Justice is asking for huge sums upfront as reimbursement money.

Another ghost hunting gambling in America is the case of Antigua, a gambling haven and a tiny island in the Caribbean, many claim has been bullied by the United States and the American gambling laws.

In this case, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has awarded $21 million as damages which Antigua suffered from the American imposition of its rule upon a sovereign state as if the Monroe Doctrine, an 1823 American statement of dominion over the Western Hemisphere, was still in place.

The complaint of Antiguan prime minister, Baldwin Spencer, is that during the recent Americas Summit in Colombia, any attempts at talking to the United States representatives about the settlement cash have fallen on deaf ears.

Getting the settlement money for Antigua is even less likely than the chances of London to get paid for congestion charges, applied to everyone under the local laws, the American diplomats hesitate to pay for.

Uncle Sam, it’s not nice to decline payments.