The change, while affecting only a handful of Internet casinos, adds a wrinkle to an emerging trade battle between the United States and much of the world over Internet gambling and Togel.
The U.S. government says that domestic laws prohibit Internet gambling, and some states have been pursuing financial institutions that facilitate online gambling transactions.
The decision by the Isle of Man comes amid a trade dispute over Internet gambling between the United States and the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda.
The island nation has complained to the World Trade Organization that the United States is violating its trade obligations by prohibiting its residents to place wagers over the Internet.
In November, the WTO issued a preliminary ruling in favor of Antigua and Barbuda and Togel.
On Friday, the United States filed a formal notice of appeal, asserting that the country’s long-standing trade policy and social mores were consistent with its prohibition against online gaming.
Despite the prohibition, Americans wager more online each year than do residents of any other single country. Around the world, online casinos and the jurisdictions that license them are eager for the U.S. business.
The Isle of Man said that as of Jan. 1, it would be allowing casinos based there to take bets from Americans for slot online.
The island, located between Britain and Ireland, is a so-called Crown Dependency, meaning that it makes its own domestic laws but relies on Britain for defense and foreign policy.
The policy reversal is significant because the Isle of Man, which first started licensing Internet casinos in 2001, initially sought to attract blue-chip gambling operations by defining itself as a jurisdiction offering rigorous regulation.
Initially, that policy seemed to pay off, as some of the world’s largest gambling operations, including MGM Mirage, Togel purchased expensive licenses to operate online casinos there. But business was not as brisk as expected and six major casinos, including MGM, have relocated from the Isle of Man or closed their Internet operations altogether.
In December, the country’s Council of Ministers voted to reverse the policy discouraging online casinos located there from accepting bets from the United States. Tim Craine, the head of e-business for the Isle of Man, said that the country felt the policy change would help attract new casinos – and the licensing and tax revenue they provide.
