CARICOM Members join forces against online gambling ban

Caribbean countries have joined together against the online gambling ban in the United States. In a meeting held in Barbados, CARICOM, the Caribbean Communities promised to support the hard work of Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) to regulate Internet gambling in the United States.

The 15 CARICOM Caribbean member countries are: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Caribbean Community also pledged to support Members of Congress who introduced bills to legalize and implement online gaming and supported Antigua and Barbuda in their allege for recompense from the U.S. for World Trade Organization (WTO) trade agreement violations concerning online gaming.

“An important signal that the U.S. must reconsider the way it treats Internet gambling at the moment is CARICOM’s support for the Congressman Frank's Internet gambling legislation. Our hope is that the Members of Congress will realize that it is more convenient to stop the online ban and comply with the WTO, better protect consumers and breed billions for important government programs, instead of facing billions in trade sanctions for WTO violations” declared Jeffrey Sandman spokesman for the Safe and Secure Internet Gambling Initiative.

The legislation introduced by Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) intends to regulate Internet gambling and require domestic and foreign online gambling operators to obtain a license. The Internet Gambling Regulation and Enforcement Act also intends to put in place protection measures against underage and compulsive gambling and guarantee the integrity of financial transactions.