Casino Choice UK News Archive
EU Ruling Delivers a Blow to Online Gaming
On
Tuesday, the European Union’s highest level of court ruled that the state-owned
Portuguese gambling monopoly is legal. The decision, which affirms the
monopoly’s legitimacy only if its aim is to fight criminal activities, could
have consequential effects for the rest of Europe’s online gambling industry. This
new ruling could possibly allow the governments of states who are members of
the European Union to constrain online gambling.
Tuesday’s case was a response to a sponsorship deal between the Portugese football league and Bwin subsidiary BAW International Ltd. The deal gave BAW the right to display their logo on the uniforms of players in the league and on the league’s website. However, the state charity Direccao do Departamento de Jogos da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa has a monopoly on electronic forms of betting across the major media outlets of television, the internet and radio. Thus, the league and Bwin were both infringing on the charity’s monopoly and were both fine upwards of €74,000.
The football league and Bwin took their case to court, appealing the fines and arguing that companies are allowed to provide services and goods freely across the bloc’s borders under EU regulations. However, the court ruled that this was not the case. If the public interest is compromised, free movement of goods and services can be prohibited.
The court stated that sportsbetting and other games of chance present a high risk for criminal activity, and online gambling opens up even more opportunities for fraud. The monopoly therefore remains intact, as the court feels it is shielding citizens from the possible threats that online gambling can, in rare cases, present. However, many industry officials are seeking to prove that regulation across the market has made these possibilities highly unlikely.
Tuesday’s case was a response to a sponsorship deal between the Portugese football league and Bwin subsidiary BAW International Ltd. The deal gave BAW the right to display their logo on the uniforms of players in the league and on the league’s website. However, the state charity Direccao do Departamento de Jogos da Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Lisboa has a monopoly on electronic forms of betting across the major media outlets of television, the internet and radio. Thus, the league and Bwin were both infringing on the charity’s monopoly and were both fine upwards of €74,000.
The football league and Bwin took their case to court, appealing the fines and arguing that companies are allowed to provide services and goods freely across the bloc’s borders under EU regulations. However, the court ruled that this was not the case. If the public interest is compromised, free movement of goods and services can be prohibited.
The court stated that sportsbetting and other games of chance present a high risk for criminal activity, and online gambling opens up even more opportunities for fraud. The monopoly therefore remains intact, as the court feels it is shielding citizens from the possible threats that online gambling can, in rare cases, present. However, many industry officials are seeking to prove that regulation across the market has made these possibilities highly unlikely.
Submitted: 2009/09/11 at 09:00:00
