Costa Rica, U.S. Settle Online Gaming Dispute

Costa Rica and the United States have reached a settlement on a trade dispute caused after the U.S. enacted laws designed to target online gambling.

As compensation for cutting off Costa Rican access to online gambling customers, the U.S. has offered Costa Rica greater access to other service markets, including research and development, storage, technical testing and analysis.

The settlement took place after Costa Rica filed for arbitration before the World Trade Organization (WTO). Under a WTO agreement on services, any country that blocks access to one of a range of markets must provide compensation to the affected countries.

Canada, Japan and the European Union have reached similar settlements with the U.S.

“The agreement has been satisfactory for the country,” said Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz in a written statement.