The effect of the shutdown of online casino gambling in the US was momentous. Companies saw their stock cut in half and their revenues fall by as much as 70%, as the gambling market shrunk by about 60%. Yes, there were - and still are - new markets and new business opportunities on the horizon, namely Europe and the Far East, but the unilateral move by the largest market at the time was painful.

The days might be coming to an end. America may once again allow online gambling.

How come? The answer is found in the Caribbean. Antigua, the small resort destination, a country of 70,000 people and a GDP of under $1 billion, which has thrived on tourism and hosting online gambling operations that served the North American market, has sued the mighty economic power over the ban.

Though this looked at the time as a losing cause - Antigua has no economic leverage really when it comes to trade disputes with the US - looks now like a milestone moment in gaming history.

The WTO has since ruled that the US ban is illegal and that competition should be allowed, welcoming international Internet operations in the US. The ruling applies not only to Antigua and not only to online gambling. Other countries will be affected, also able to offer services, including the EU and Australia, all of which on the alert. It will also likely involve the greater issue of intellectual-property, thus risking the well-established and protected industries in Hollywood and the Silicon Valley.

Now the US better wake up.

"Intellectual property is the perfect sanction item," Nao Matsukata, a former senior trade official for the United States, told Newsweek in an article about the future of gaming in the US. It has drawn lobbyist from across America to Capitol Hill, advancing a deal that would prevent such horror scenarios as a loss of intellectual property protections may yield.

America's first response is expected to come soon, on September 22, though it will probably announce an extension to the deadline given it. This deadline will pass, but the issue will surely be resolved sooner or later. With multi-billion industries at stake, a conservative guess has Americans back at their computers and playing their favorite casino games, this time with active participation of its greatest land based casinos as well, sometime in 2008.