An Open Letter to the U.S. Congress and the Gaming Industry: `The Hypocrisy of Antigua Regarding Internet Gambling'

An Open Letter to the U.S. Congress and the Gaming Industry: `The Hypocrisy of Antigua Regarding Internet Gambling'

June 08, 2007

    LAS VEGAS, June 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Antigua has
threatened to act against U.S. trademarks, copyrights and
intellectual property rights, in response to the U.S.
position in the World Trade Organization dispute regarding
internet gambling. The WTO decision, however, does not
reveal the extent of the issues relevant to cross border
wagering. 
  
    Around $100 million has been won from U.S. players
through abuse of U.S. intellectual property rights by most
Antigua internet casinos. For example, the most popular
proprietary casino table game is Three Card Poker. The
right to offer Three Card Poker to U.S. players has never
been granted to any Antigua internet casino. Yet most
Antigua internet casinos offer Three Card Poker to U.S.
players, and in the process, knowingly infringe U.S.
patents related to Three Card Poker. Ironically, Antigua
seeks relief from the WTO, while contrary to WTO principles
Antigua fails to rectify infringement of patents and other
intellectual property rights.  
   
    An independent internet gambler survey conducted in the
U.K. in April 2006 revealed the following --  

    Question  Should internet casinos get permission from
the
              inventors of games before using their games?

    Answer    Yes         83%
              No           6%  
              Don't Know  11%
    This response is so clear that no comment is needed.

    Antigua is proposing to act against U.S. intellectual
property rights as retaliation against the U.S., whilst
ignoring that most Antigua internet casinos already abuse
U.S. intellectual property rights to deceptively and
unethically generate revenue from U.S. players. 

    As a priority Antigua should compel the internet
casinos that have obtained funds through abuse of U.S.
intellectual property rights to disgorge and repatriate
those funds. If a method of funds disbursement to players
is impractical, then funds should be transferred to a U.S.
government agency for the dedicated purpose of addressing
problem gambling. 

    No WTO action in respect of compensation by the U.S.
should be considered until after this transfer of funds
from Antigua to the U.S. has taken place. While hypocrisy
exists in the U.S. position, Antigua is at least equally
inconsistent. 

    Any change in U.S. policy towards internet gambling,
through either of the pending Frank or Wexler proposals,
should incorporate a solid defense of U.S. intellectual
property rights and protection of players from abuse of
those rights. No entity, whether internet site owner,
gaming software provider, an associated revenue-sharing
affiliate or the enabling regulatory body, should be
allowed to profit from legal U.S. internet gambling without
first disgorging and repatriating misappropriated funds. 

    Prime Table Games creates and provides casino game
content based on a portfolio of over 30 granted U.S.
patents. The first game we created was Three Card Poker. In
a recent U.S. Federal Civil Anti-Trust case against PGIC we
won our first litigation as Plaintiffs. The damage award of
$39 million is the highest award ever in a gambling
intellectual property dispute. We are also claiming legal
costs of nearly $5 million that will be adjudicated on at a
future post-trial hearing. 


    For more information, please contact:

     Derek Webb 
     Prime Table Games
     Email: [e-mail]