Antigua, the small island nation in the Caribbean that filed a complain with the World Trade Organization against the U.S. because of perceived discriminatory policies against online gambling companies, is waiting for the U.S. to comply with the WTO’s April seventh decision of this year. The U.S. has until April third of 2006 to comply with the WTO’s decision, which ruled that the U.S. ban on Internet gambling in the interest of public morals, can only stand as long as the ban does not create discriminatory policies towards foreign Internet gambling businesses. In response to the ruling, the U.S. has said that it can comply with the WTO’s decision without opening itself up to foreign Internet gambling if it just “clarifies” its restrictions.

"To implement the findings in this dispute, all we need to do is clarify one narrow issue concerning Internet gambling on horse racing," Neena Moorjani, spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, said by telephone from Washington on Friday. "This does not involve weakening U.S. restrictions on Internet gambling."

Antigua, which developed the online gambling industry after the U.S. suggested that the country should find an alternative industry to boost its economy besides tourism, wants access to the U.S. gambling market. The U.S. gambling market is the largest one in the world and accounts for approximately 55 percent of all online wagers. Internet gambling companies registered in Antigua, such as SportingBet Plc and BetWWTS.com, account for about a quarter of the wagers placed in the estimated $7 billion to $12 billion global Internet gambling industry.

Antigua , with a population just under 68,000, is the smallest nation ever to lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization. It was considered no small victory when the WTO ruled in favor of Antigua saying that the Bush administration had not justified its position against Internet gambling by simply arguing that the ban was for moral reasons. The WTO also ruled that the U.S. had committed itself to opening its market to the online gambling industry in 1995 and had to uphold that commitment. While the U.S. did win part of an appeal against the WTO ruling, it still must comply with the ruling.

In an interview from his New York office, John Ashe, Antigua’s ambassador to the WTO said that “the time is adequate, and we hope the U.S. does everything possible to comply with the decision." According to Ashe, access to the U.S. gambling market, is Antigua’s only goal in this case.