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The Finance Minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has said that it will be pursuing retaliatory sanctions against U.S. commercial services and intellectual property as part of its trade battle with the United States.

According to Finance Minister Harold Lovell, the country has spent years trying to negotiate a “fair settlement” with the U.S., the island is accusing the States of damaging its economy by banning Americans from placing online bets with gambling operators based on the island.

Lovell said that as a nation they “are entitled to all the rights and the protection of the WTO.” He went on to say that having tried all other options it is now time to pursue sanctions.

If there isn’t a last-minute settlement Antigua will formally announce its intentions at Geneva-based World Trade Organisation next Monday.

The announcement will also include specifics of which U.S. industries it intends to target.

In 2007 the WTO gave Antigua the right to target U.S. services in retaliation for the betting ban; however the trade sanctions had an annual limit of $21 million imposed upon them. Antigua was looking for the right to impose $3.4 billion in retaliatory measures.

However, Lovell says he is determined that without “a fair settlement, this is the route we will take.”



Antigua Prepares to Pursue Retaliatory Sanctions Against the U.S - Online Casino Archives

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As the 2012 Formula 1 season fades into the distance, the fact that the sport has a new three-time world champion - and what that means - is sinking in.

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel is not only the youngest of the nine men to have won three or more F1 drivers' titles, he is also only the third in history to have won three in a row, after Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher. As Vettel is still only 25, Schumacher's all-time record of seven titles seems within reach of the precocious German.

These achievements have led to deserved plaudits for Vettel, the latest of which was to be called the sport's new "yardstick" by none less than F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone in a recent interview. Vettel is undoubtedly a rare and precious talent, but whether winning three titles in a row makes him the measure by which all contemporaries are judged is another matter altogether.

He and Red Bull are undoubtedly the ones to beat next year - in the sense that he is the driver who has made best use of the best team and usually the best car over the last three years. But that's not the same thing.

Winning an F1 title, after all, is about more than talent alone. A driver has to have a fast car; it has to not break down too often; and he has to be lucky.

In different circumstances, it's not hard to imagine a quite different table of F1 champions.

Schumacher could have 'only' five titles; Alain Prost, who won four, could be on six or seven; and Fernando Alonso, who lost out to Vettel this season, could have four rather than two and Vettel one instead of three.

“Winning an F1 title is about more than talent alone. A driver has to have a fast car; it has to not break down; and he has to be lucky”

Let's look at Schumacher as an example.

First of all, his five consecutive titles for Ferrari from 2000-4 came about at a time when he had the best car, the richest team, bespoke tyres and unlimited testing to develop them. For much of that time, the others simply didn't have the resources to compete.

Schumacher's superiority was created by the combination of a great talent with the most ruthless and effective winning machine ever devised, which re-wrote the rules about what was achievable in F1.

Before that, Schumacher won in 1994 after driving into Williams's Damon Hill at the final race in Australia. The move put both men out - but had Hill been able to continue the Englishman would have been champion instead.

Likewise, Schumacher's 2003 title was won after the Michelin tyres on the cars of rivals McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya were suddenly and controversially declared illegal. After several months of there apparently being no problem with them.

The change of heart by F1's authorities came after an intervention by Schumacher's Ferrari team, and necessitated a re-design that undoubtedly affected the chances of Raikkonen and Montoya. Neither won again that season.

And what about Prost? He won his titles in 1985, '86, '89 and '93, but a more reliable car would have made him champion in '82; he was overhauled in '83 only after the late introduction of a controversial new fuel by Nelson Piquet's Brabham-BMW team; and the half-point deficit by which he lost in '84 to McLaren team-mate Niki Lauda would have been wiped out but for any one of a number of bad breaks.

How about Ayrton Senna? The man who recently topped BBC F1's greatest drivers poll - and who routinely heads similar lists - won three world titles. But might have won, too, in '89 had he not been controversially disqualified following a collision with Prost in the penultimate race that year. Senna did, though, win 'only' three titles. Does that make him less than half as good as Schumacher? Of course not.

Yet in some people's minds the fact that Schumacher has won more championships and more grands prix than anyone else automatically makes him the greatest driver of all time.

Most, though, realise the argument is more nuanced than that.

A driver's standing is dictated at least partly by what he achieves in what he has; how consistently he maximises his machinery's potential; even whether he can win occasionally when not in the best car, which is perhaps the most demanding test of all.

Take the current era. Vettel won his first and third titles at the final races of the 2010 and 2012 seasons, in both cases relegating Alonso to second place.

But in 2010, only a catastrophic strategic error by Ferrari prevented the Spaniard taking the fourth place he needed in the final race in Abu Dhabi to become champion.

And this year, when Alonso lost out by three points, he would have comfortably won had his car not been assaulted at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix by the flying Lotus of Romain Grosjean - the man who Vettel's team-mate Mark Webber memorably dubbed the "first-lap nutcase".

Did those events reflect on the qualities of Alonso or Vettel as drivers in any way? Of course not.

“Had history turned out differently and Alonso had by now won four titles and Vettel one, would it make either a better or worse driver than he is?”

None of this is to diminish a remarkable achievement by Vettel, or to downplay the talent of a man who will clearly be a central figure in F1 for the next decade.

But if one is forced to pick a yardstick for modern-day F1 drivers after the 2012 season, it would be hard to look beyond Alonso after the year he has just had.

In a demonstrably slower car, the Spaniard took the title to the final race of the season and - even allowing for the Spa incident, among others - would still have won had Vettel not been fortunate in being able to continue following a first-lap crash, for which he was at least partly to blame, that might have inflicted terminal damage to his car.

Likewise, Lewis Hamilton was in superlative form for McLaren, but poor reliability and operational mistakes by the team stopped his title challenge short

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It can't get any worse for Atlantic City.

Can it?

Last week's news that November gaming revenues at Atlantic City's 12 casinos suffered their worst single-month decline in the New Jersey community's 34-year history of legalized gaming had to be the low point.

Or was it?

Granted, Superstorm Sandy, which hit the region in late October, caused most of Atlantic City's casinos to stay closed between Oct. 28 and Nov. 5.

Infrastructure impairments hindered travel from key feeder markets while residents of the Atlantic City - many of whom are employed in the casinos - were dealing with their own property damages.

In November, casino revenues fell 27.9 percent, which followed a 19.9 percent drop in October.

Not all the declines can be attributed to the storm.

Atlantic City's gaming revenues have been subject to an onslaught over the past few years as the market's monopoly on Northeast gaming has shrunk.

Casino growth in Pennsylvania and other neighboring states have taken away business. Gaming expansion is continuing up the Eastern seaboard.

Between 2006 and 2011, Atlantic City's gaming revenues declined 38 percent.

Since 2010, the area experienced just two monthly gaming revenue increases, including a 12.6 percent jump in August.

Any gains, however, were washed away by Sandy. For the first 11 months of 2012, gaming revenues are down 8 percent.

"The aftermath of the hurricane will likely have a lingering effect," said Wells Fargo Securities gaming analyst Dennis Farrell Jr. "As the recovery continues to be under way, it is likely premature to estimate what the drag on results will be in the coming months."

Atlantic City still faces stormy weather.

For example, a second casino is being planned for Philadelphia, which is just an hour's drive away.

The $2.4 billion Revel opened on the Boardwalk in April but hasn't been the savior that many Atlantic City observers hoped.

In November, Revel produced just $6.2 million in gaming revenue, second to last in Atlantic City. Only the Trump Plaza had a worse month.

In addition, Revel's operators warned in Securities and Exchange Commission filings the property could face bankruptcy or foreclosure because of its $1.3 billion debt.

Revel Chief Executive Officer Kevin DeSanctis said in a statement he has confidence in the casino's marketing strategy and business that canceled because of the storm would return.

Farrell warned any boost in Revel's numbers could be at the detriment to its competition.

"Existing operators could see further revenue cannibalization and margin compression, especially on the Atlantic City Boardwalk," Farrell said.

There are a few glimmers of hope.

Caesars Entertainment Corp. operates four of Atlantic City's casinos and company executives have publicly stated their support for the market.

Much of the optimism stems from gaming reforms offered by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, although the changes have been slow to arrive.

Caesars recently signed a deal with Republic Airways that will bring roughly 30,000 to 35,000 visitors a year on charter flights to Atlantic City.

The newest white knight, however, might be a controversial online gaming giant.

PokerStars, which was kicked out of the U.S. by federal prosecutors 20 months ago, is reportedly interested in buying the struggling Atlantic Club on the Boardwalk.

The Wall Street Journal reported Dec. 6 that PokerStars, based in the British dependency Isle of Man, was negotiating to purchase the property from private equity group Colony Capital for less than $50 million.

The deal is contingent on New Jersey legalizing online gaming.

A bill is currently under debate in the legislature, which would allow gamblers to wager on the websites - operated by Atlantic City casinos - from within New Jersey's borders.

PokerStars agreed in August to pay $731 million to the federal government to settle a nine-count criminal indictment.

The company and its founders were accused in April 2011 of bank fraud, money laundering and running an illegal gaming business.

In the settlement, PokerStars did not admit to any wrongdoing.

The company is also not prohibited from re-entering the U.S. gambling market in legal ways. But it was required to change senior management.

A deal with PokerStars to save the Atlantic Club, which was originally built by Steve Wynn in the 1980s as the Golden Nugget and most recently operated as the Atlantic City Hilton, may give members of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission heartburn.

The state has an ultrastrict gaming regulatory reputation.

The Division of Gaming Enforcement all but kicked MGM Resorts International out of Atlantic City in 2010 when it decided Hong Kong businesswoman Pansy Ho, the company's joint venture partner in Macau, was unsuitable.

The ruling was primarily due to her father, controversial billionaire Stanley Ho, whose Macau casinos are alleged by international law enforcement to be under the influence of Chinese organized crime triads.

Pansy Ho has never been accused of wrongdoing, nor has she ever paid a multimillion dollar fine to settle a government indictment.

Her business ties with MGM Resorts were deemed suitable by gaming regulators in Nevada and Mississippi.

Would New Jersey gaming regulators change course and license PokerStars in order to save the Boardwalk?

It depends whether or not the Atlantic City gaming market has bottomed out.

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PokerStars potentially could be one step closer to an American return, thanks to some people in power within New Jersey pushing for a new law that they say could help the state’s beleaguered gambling industry and economically depressed Atlantic City.

As one lawmaker predicted to Card Player, the New Jersey online gambling bill passed the state Assembly on Monday, and now heads to the Senate for a full vote. State Assembly lawmakers voted in favor of the proposal by a 48-24-4 margin.

Sen. Ray Lesniak said earlier this month that the plan was to vote on the bill in the Assembly on Dec. 17, send it to the Senate on Dec. 20, and then immediately to the governor’s desk. A revised version of the proposal was released Dec. 3, after languishing untouched since June.

If it becomes law, the Garden State would be fourth behind the District of Columbia, Nevada and Delaware to legalize online gambling. D.C. repealed its legislation, however.

It’s unclear if New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would sign the current proposal moving rapidly through the legislature before 2012 slams its doors shut. He vetoed a similar bill in 2011, but might like the changes made to the idea this time around and that the feds relaxed their position on intrastate gaming that takes real-money deposits.

As for PokerStars, the world’s most successful poker website, New Jersey represents a chance to get back into the U.S. after settling with the federal government — without admitting any wrongdoing — for alleged crimes listed in the historic Black Friday case.

The Wall Street Journal broke the story that the Isle of Man-based firm is looking to buy one of Atlantic City’s worst-performing casinos, for a potential price tag of under $50 million. PokerStars would need the brick-and-mortar joint to run web games.

If approved, New Jersey would be the largest state in terms of population to have the OK to run an intrastate web casino system. Nevada has about 2.7 million residents and Delaware about 910,000, while New Jersey contains about 8.8 million.

Ten percent of web casino revenue in New Jersey would go back to the state.

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New guy here. But I just have to say that's a shame.

I've recently moved to Atlantic City and have come to enjoy the casinos they have to offer. Despite it's flaws, Revel was one of them. I spent a few nights in their hotel room too, which while nice, was a bit pricey. But I think they got a good thing going, and it could mean some success for New Jersey somewhwere down the line

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Italy's new online slots regulations came into effect earlier this month, opening up a market already worth €268 million annually - according to an estimate the Blackjack.it website has extrapolated using data from national gambling regulator AAMS.

William Hill Casino Italy has introduced 30 of Playtech's video slots and progressives, and All Slots Casino Italy has done the same, adding 50 of Microgaming's online slots.

New era for Italian online slots

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Boost for companies, state

Regulation of the online slots market is also expected to deliver operators a substantial boost in revenues. According to various studies, online slots generally account for around 70 of an online casino's revenue, and now that operators licensed by AAMS are cleared to offer these games, they could see revenues multiply four-fold.

This is also a good thing for the cash-strapped Italian state: operators will contribute more to state coffers through paying a back profit-based flat tax and a one-off licensing fee, while the increased demand for their services will lead to job creation too.



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The state Senate on Thursday passed a bill that would let New Jersey residents to play online versions of casino games anywhere in the state. The 33-3 vote gives Governor Christie 45 days to decide whether he wants to veto the proposal, as he did nearly two years ago.

The vote followed a 48-25 Assembly vote on Monday in favor of online gambling, which supporters say already occurs illegally. New Jersey is in a race with several states, including California and Nevada, to be the first to offer such gambling. A Congressional bill that would have made online poker legal at the federal level while banning all other online versions of casino games has languished in the lame-duck session, leaving the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, to question whether the federal government would take any action in 2013.

Christie last year objected to a provision in the New Jersey bill that would have permitted the state Racing Commission to approve up to $30 million in horse racing purse subsidies, while also expressing concern that so-called “Internet cafés” might pop up all over the state with café owners advertising to attract customers. The purse subsidy clause has been removed, and the bill’s sponsors say that new language prohibiting advertising would render the internet café issue moot.

But Christie last year also called it a “legal fiction” to say that the bill does not run afoul of a state law that permits gambling only in Atlantic City, with exceptions for horse racing and the lottery. Bill supporters are counting on a legal opinion by a constitutional scholar that the bill passes muster as long as the electronic servers that complete the betting process are located in Atlantic City.

A spokesman for Christie has declined to comment on whether the revisions in the bill would change the governor’s mind about the bill.

The Casino Association of New Jersey now supports Internet wagering if it is “implemented in a lawful, appropriate, thoughtful and prudent fashion,” said the association’s president, Tony Rodio.

“We believe that the pending legislation goes a long way towards fulfilling those objectives,” Rodio said.



N.J. Senate overwhelmingly OKs online casino gambling bill - NorthJersey-com

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With casino approvals expanding down the East Coast into the mid-Atlantic, two jurisdictions remain resistant to their financial allure — the District and Virginia — and that’s not likely to change anytime soon.

Maryland’s sixth casino, expected to be built at National Harbor, would only be about a mile from the borders of both Virginia and the District. It is expected to draw many customers from the nation’s capital and the Old Dominion.

While both Virginia and the District have legalized some forms of gambling in the past (both have lotteries and the District recently legalized online gambling before repealing the law) neither has, nor is expected to have, an actual casino.

“There’s always been an attitude that the nation’s capital should not have a bricks-and-mortar casino,” D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown said. Mr. Brown, at-large independent who visits casinos himself and introduced the online gambling legislation, considers himself one of the more pro-gambling members of the council.

D.C. Council member Jack Evans agreed with Mr. Brown and noted that not only would the council have to pass legislation, but it would need approval from the U.S. Congress.

“Generally there is a lot of opposition in Congress to gambling in the nation’s capital, and among the residents, as well, in the District,” Mr. Evans, Ward 2 Democrat, said.

Mr. Evans, along with D.C. Council member Marion Barry, Ward 9 Democrat, introduced a bill in September that was meant to study how gambling in Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware affect the District. Although Mr. Evans said the bill likely will expire at the end of the year and not be reintroduced, he could see a benefit to a casino across the Potomac River in National Harbor.

“I think actually a National Harbor casino would be helpful to the city. You know it brings people to the region that might not come otherwise,” Mr. Evans said.

As for online gambling in the District, Mr. Brown said it is a good way to bring in tax revenue from the industry without having a casino that “possibly would also bring what I think a lot of social activists are concerned about, a different kind of element to the city.”

“Keep in mind that it’s already going on in the District of Columbia. Thousands of our residents are playing right now, today, without any regulations and without the city reaping any of those revenue benefits,” Mr. Brown said.

In Virginia, the story is different, but the conclusion is the same: no casinos.

Toni-Michelle Travis, an associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University, said this likely has to do with the Protestant tradition in the state.

“Many people would have reservations because of their religious beliefs,” Ms. Travis said.

Don Blake, chairman and president of the Virginia Christian Alliance, said his organization opposes gambling in the state because it damages individuals, families and culture, and is “against the principles in the Bible.”

“Gambling is a plague on people,” said Mr. Blake, who said the reason people gamble is because they “have desires that they can’t control sometimes.”

Read more: Casinos hold little allure for D.C., Virginia - Washington Times
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