Could I-gaming restrictions in the United States be challenged by the European Union? EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy thinks it may be a possibility.
While the legality of I-gaming in the United States has for years remained ambiguous, President Bush last October enacted legislation that prohibits banks, credit card companies and third-party institutions from processing online gambling transactions.
According to McCreevy, the policy might infringe upon the rights of foreign businesses.
"In my view," he told the European Parliament, "it is probably a restrictive practice, and we might take it up in another fora."
McCreevy went on to suggest that the United States sought to protect its own gambling industry by stopping foreign companies from entering the I-gaming market.
"In order to protect, I'd say, their own business, their industry there, they have de facto prevented foreigners from online betting into the United States," he said.
McCreevy later told Reuters that the U.S. rules were a "prima facie" case of protectionism and that the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a possible venue for challenging them.
Due to the WTO's protracted negotiations to secure a new world trade agreement, however, he would not rush to file a complaint.
"It's not something of major momentum," McCreevy told Reuters.
McCreevy added that, as of yet, there have been no face-to-face talks about the issue with Peter Mendelsen, the EU trade commissioner.
A spokesman for the United States in Brussels, home of the European Parliament, declined comment, telling Bloomberg it was premature to respond to remarks by a commissioner where no action has been taken.