Decisions of the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization United States - Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services Download the Complete Survey (RTF Format) Download the Complete Survey (PDF Format) * United States – United States - Measures Affecting the Cross-Border Supply of Gambling and Betting Services , WT/DS285/AB/R, adopted April 20, 2005 . United States , Appellant/Appellee; Antigua and Barbuda, Appellant/Appellee; Canada, Chinese Taipei, European Communities, Japan, and Mexico, Third Participants. Division: Sacerdoti, Abi-Saab and Lockhart. Major Topics Addressed by the Appellate Body: (i) interpretation of schedules of commitments under GATS; (ii) scope of application of Article XVI of GATS relating to market access; (iii) scope of exception for public morals under Article XIV of GATS. 1. Abstract This case addresses several important issues. First, it elaborates on the process of interpretation of schedules of commitments in the WTO generally, and in the GATS in particular. The U.S. argued that it never intended to make any commitments to liberalize in connection with gambling services. Second, this case examines the coverage of regulatory restrictions under Article XVI of GATS, addressing certain specified restrictions on market access. Importantly, one of the core questions was whether a measure that prohibits on-line gambling could be understood as violating prohibitions on limitations on the number of service suppliers in the form of numerical quotas, and on the number of service operations in terms of designated numerical units in the form of quotas. In other words, under what circumstances can a qualitative regulation be understood as a quantitative restriction? Third, it examines the scope of the exception provided in Article XIV of GATS for certain measures necessary to protect public morals. * The free viewer (Acrobat Reader) for PDF file is available at the Adobe Systems
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