Minister of Finance and the Economy Dr. Errol Cort has estimated that more than 1,000 workers are employed with gaming companies locally and major closures stand to have a devastating impact on those dependent on the industry.

Director of Gaming Kaye McDonald addressed this issue yesterday and said the gaming sector faces “a very grey future” with real implications for the loss of jobs in Antigua.

While she has not been officially notified of any closures, the locally operating companies are expressing serious misgivings in light of this further evidence of the US crackdown on Internet gaming.

“We are cognisant that operators not only in Antigua & Barbuda, but in other jurisdictions will have to make decisions based on that legislation being passed and the viability of the future operations of their companies, particularly with gaming companies’ main revenue being generated from the US market,” she said. “It will stand to reason that if you have to cut off the main source of your revenue, you will have to downsize,” she added.

She said that the passage of the legislation, which is still awaiting the signature of US President George W. Bush, will have a major impact on the global gaming industry, particularly in light of the broad net cast by the federal legislation. Financial institutions face criminal penalties for processing the Internet gaming transactions and she said their likely reaction would be to refuse facilitating payments.

“We don’t know what the regulations are going to require, so we are speaking in a very speculative manner, but obviously we know that the US has made no excuse or shame that this is a crackdown on the global Internet gaming industry.

“As regulators here in Antigua, we have always advocated that our operators be very aware of the legal risks involved and be aware of the different regulatory standing of countries, i.e. the US... We are in discussions with our operators to look at their concerns and to look at the way forward.”

While the long-term outlook may be bleak, she noted that NETELLER, an online funds transfer service, has announced that it will carry on its business as usual until it has been advised of the requirements under the new legislation.

In a statement released yesterday, NETELLER said that it is “considering the potential impact of the Act at this time” and “will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation and to energetically plan and adapt NETELLER’s business to minimise any potential adverse impact.”

Source: antiguasun.com