Legal Matters - European Gambling Law
Over the years bettingmarket.com has provided a comprehensive analysis of European and US gambling law. In the case of Europe, we did not succumb to the post-Gambelli euphoria that befell many leading lawyers in the field and many online gambling companies. In the case of the US, we refused to perpetrate the myth that the only person ever charged in relation to online gambling, was one Mr Jay Cohen. Our seminal rticle in this area; "The War against online gambling" has been read over 1/2 million times!
At the country level, our main area of focus has been Sweden and France. Sweden, where a new Government promises to review exisiting gambling legislation, and France, where the government has chosen to get tough with online gambling operators.
On 31 January 2008 the European Commission announced that it had decided to send an official request for information on national legislation restricting the supply and promotion of certain gambling services to Sweden and Germany. In the case of Sweden, the Commission wishes to verify whether all national measures relating to poker games and tournaments are consistent and therefore compatible with Article 49 of the EC Treaty, which guarantees the free movement of services. The Commission said that its decision does not touch upon the existence of monopolies as such, or on national lotteries. Nor does it have any implications for the liberalisation of the market for gambling services generally, or for the entitlement of Member States to seek to protect the general interest, so long as this is done in a manner consistent with EU law i.e. that any measures are necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory. The Commission said that a Member State cannot invoke the need to restrict its citizens’ access to betting services if at the same time it incites and encourages them to participate in state lotteries, games of chance or betting which benefits the state’s finances.
The story of French gambling laws has descended into something of a farce. Nonetheless, it is anticipated that France will have reached agreement with Brussels by the spring of 2008; however. as regards the partial liberalisation of her betting market. On 18 January 2008 the Court of Appeal of Versailles announced that it would request additional information as to whether French gambling laws were compatible with the decisions reached by the European Court in the cases of Gambelli and Placanica. The Court's decision centred around a request by Didier Dewyn, the former chief executive of Mr Bookmaker, to have proceedings against him for organising an "illicit lottery" and "clandestine betting on horse races" thrown out.
Any hope those companies that exited the US market, in repsonse to the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 may have had, that they would now be immune from prosecution, have been dashed following the arrest of the "Neteller Two" and the news that HSBC, Dresdner Kleinwort, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are among a number of banks, accountants and law firms known to have been ordered by the Department of Justice to hand over all e-mails, telephone records and papers connected with internet gaming firms as part of an investigation into illegal online gambling in America;
It is a moot point whether any of the European states that currently impose restrictions upon private betting operators, are, or indeed, ever have, actually demonstrated a desire to bring about a dimunition in gambling opportunities within their borders. Regardless, the journey from Shindler to Placanica has been a long and laborious one. At the very least the European Court of Justice can be said to have dithered when it came to ruling on the issues that really mattered. The European Commission has tried to concentrate minds in recent years, but ultimately it has been shown to be a body that has little teeth - it can take member states to court, but this process has traditionally taken years, and rarely acted as a significant deterrent to offending states.
Based on these ECJ rulings, McCreevy now has legal actions against 10 countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. Betting market liberalisation comes dripping slow.
