ANTIGUA: Cort fears further job loss in gaming sector

[clevfan]

Cort fears further job loss in gaming sector

Wednesday August 30 2006



ANTIGUA SUN
By Patricia Campbell


Approximately 30 people involved in the gaming industry will shortly be unemployed as gaming company BETonSPORTS (BOS) closes its Antigua operations, but there are fears in the Ministry of Finance that another 1,000 local jobs are on the line, being threatened by the US crackdown on Internet gaming.

"The closure of BOS in Antigua and the threat to the other gaming operators here will ultimately have a significant impact on employment because these gaming and betting companies do employ significant numbers of young persons. So, the government is very concerned over that particular development," Minister of Finance Dr. Errol Cort said.

Dr. Cort says that he has been officially notified by BOS that it plans to close its offices but said that the company has not provided the government with a date for closure. He speculated that since BOS runs its financial operations out of Antigua, the local office is not likely to be shut down until the company has settled its financial affairs.

BOS employs only a small number of the estimated 1000 Antiguan residents working in the gaming sector, but Dr. Cort pointed out that in addition to the roughly 30 people it employs directly, the company also provides indirect employment to even more.

"It would be a big loss to Antigua & Barbuda. As a matter of fact, BOS had just agreed with the government to further expand its operations in Antigua. They had just secured rental premises here in Antigua and they were going to seek to employ many, many more people. That was a commitment made by BOS and the government."

The minister of finance said that he was troubled by the seeming increase in the antagonism against Internet gaming companies which has been demonstrated by the US government.

"We are very concerned about that. As a lawyer, I would have thought that with a matter like this before the WTO, that the status quo would be maintained... until the outcome of the entire decision, but we are concerned that in recent times the US seems to be moving along a very aggressive path in terms of trying to close down as many of these gaming companies as possible," he said.

He said that he is seeking to hold meetings with the US authorities in order to get a better understanding of the actions that have been taken recently. He also hopes that the two governments arrive at a more accommodating position, pending the outcome of case which is presently before the WTO. Ambassador Deborah-Mae Lovell has been charged with seeking to arrange a number of meetings with the various US departments and agencies.

Minister Cort indicated that the government has not had any dialogue with the US Department of Justice since indictments against two local gaming companies were unsealed, but said that that is one of the departments with which the government is seeking an audience.

He said he hopes that these meetings will take place in Washington during either the last week of September or the first week of October.