The tiny Caribbean island state of Antigua and Barbuda has taken the first steps to haul the US back before the world trade court in a long-running dispute over internet gambling.

Antigua, which has a population of 68,000, says Washington has failed to comply with a World Trade Organisation ruling last year that US internet gambling laws discriminate against foreign suppliers. As a result, Antigua claims to have lost a large chunk of the rapidly growing offshore gaming business it has been building to diversify its economy away from tourism. US gamblers are estimated to account for about half the $12bn global internet gaming market.