US Settles Online Gambling Gripe With European Union

After passing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which made it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites, the US faced criticisms from the international community. The law forced foreign, publicly traded companies, like businesses with interests in Party Poker and Titan Poker, to cease servicing US customers. Both the World Trade Organization and the European Union were outspoken that the US was discriminating against foreign companies. This week, the US made a settlement with the European Union (EU) in order to compensate for these complaints.

The settlement provides EU businesses with new trade opportunities in the US. EU sectors that could benefit from this compromise include storage and warehouse, research and development, and postal services.

This deal is a blow to European online gaming companies who hoped the EU would resist a settlement and battle for their right to service US customers. These companies potentially lost billions of dollars after being forced to exit the US market. On news of this settlement, PartyGaming's stock price dipped nearly 6% but recovered by the end of the trading session.

Titan Poker does not accept real-money players from the United States.

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