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June 28, 2007
The European Commission has taken action to put an end to obstacles to the free movement of sports betting services in France, Greece and Sweden. The Commission has formally requested France and Sweden to amend their laws following consideration of their replies to letters of formal notice sent in April and October 2006.
These formal requests take the form of "reasoned opinions", the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice. In relation to Greece the Commission has decided to send an official request for information on national legislation restricting the supply of sports betting services. This takes the form of a letter of formal notice, the first step in the Article 226 infringement procedure. Greece has two months in which to respond.
June 21, 2007
Antigua and Barbuda said it's entitled to $3.44 billion in compensation from the U.S. in a World Trade Organization dispute over an American ban on Internet gambling.
The compensation would be in the form of Antigua withdrawing intellectual property protection for U.S. trademarks, patents and industrial designs, the government said in a statement.
After losing an appeal against earlier WTO decisions which found the U.S. ban illegal, the U.S. moved May 4 to 'clarify' its commitments to the Geneva-based trade arbiter, saying it 'never intended' to open its market to offshore Internet gambling when it made pledges on joining the WTO in 1994.
June 06, 2007
According to sources, a number of gambling firms are continuing to focus on Europe for the foreseeable future despite the growing opposition to the US Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act [UIGEA] currently being mobilised across the Atlantic.
British group the Remote Gaming Association (RGA) reportedly refused to back a move against the UIGEA by congressman Barney Frank last week, E-Gaming Review reports. The organisation believed that putting its weight behind the move may do more harm than good.
"Do we think our involvement could tip the scales? No. Look at it from the opposite angle. Did US involvement in the lobbying effort for the UK supercasino help at all? Or was it rather a hindrance?" said RGA chief executive Clive Hawkswood, the Review notes.
"It's a question of priorities and resources. There is movement in Europe at the moment, with the EU behind us, so that is what we are concentrating on," added a Ladbrokes spokesperson.
Recent developments in the European market have included Poland legalising online poker and gambling and the EU ruling that firms operating in one member state have the right to provide online gambling services in another.
 June 05, 2007
Federal German states considering a proposed German treaty to protect state gaming interests will have pause for thought this week following another strongly worded European Commission opinion that the proposal may not be compatible with European Union law.
This is the second statement of position from the Commission, which has serious reservations about the German moves. The Commission has already investigated a German ban on holding and arranging sports bets and lotteries over the internet, releasing its first detailed statement of position in March 2007. This describing the proposal as disproportionate, and in the latest communiqué EU commissioners examine the draft treaty in detail.
Key elements in the treaty have again been singled out as disproportionate and incompatible with the EC Treaty, including restrictions on the free movement of capital, advertising restrictions, limitation on sales outlets and restriction of sales channels and restraints of competition.
The Germans have two months to argue in detail on the points raised by the EC, and if the commissioners are not happy with their argument they may include the german State Treaty in infringement proceedings already in progress against other EU member states accused of non-compliance with EU law.
"The EU has recognised that certain federal states are trying to exploit their legislative power in the face of super ordinate law, not – as is erroneously and repeatedly claimed – to protect people against gambling addiction, but to eliminate the competition and corner the economic advantages of monopolising the market. They won't succeed," said Rainer Jacken, Management Board spokesman of Fluxx AG, the German lottery specialist and online bookmaker.
"We await with interest to see how those responsible will now react to this second, more outspoken warning from Brussels. To plead ignorance, as they did in their reply to the EU Commission's first statement of position, will obviously now be completely out of the question, because the EU Commission's renewed directive to subject the draft State Treaty to a thorough review could not have been clearer.
"We appeal to all [German] Prime Ministers finally to take control of the issue and not be ordered about by their own officials and directors of lotteries."Federal German states considering a proposed German treaty to protect state gaming interests will have pause for thought this week following another strongly worded European Commission opinion that the proposal may not be compatible with European Union law.
This is the second statement of position from the Commission, which has serious reservations about the German moves. The Commission has already investigated a German ban on holding and arranging sports bets and lotteries over the internet, releasing its first detailed statement of position in March 2007. This describing the proposal as disproportionate, and in the latest communiqué EU commissioners examine the draft treaty in detail.
Key elements in the treaty have again been singled out as disproportionate and incompatible with the EC Treaty, including restrictions on the free movement of capital, advertising restrictions, limitation on sales outlets and restriction of sales channels and restraints of competition.
The Germans have two months to argue in detail on the points raised by the EC, and if the commissioners are not happy with their argument they may include the german State Treaty in infringement proceedings already in progress against other EU member states accused of non-compliance with EU law.
"The EU has recognised that certain federal states are trying to exploit their legislative power in the face of super ordinate law, not – as is erroneously and repeatedly claimed – to protect people against gambling addiction, but to eliminate the competition and corner the economic advantages of monopolising the market. They won't succeed," said Rainer Jacken, Management Board spokesman of Fluxx AG, the German lottery specialist and online bookmaker.
"We await with interest to see how those responsible will now react to this second, more outspoken warning from Brussels. To plead ignorance, as they did in their reply to the EU Commission's first statement of position, will obviously now be completely out of the question, because the EU Commission's renewed directive to subject the draft State Treaty to a thorough review could not have been clearer.
"We appeal to all [German] Prime Ministers finally to take control of the issue and not be ordered about by their own officials and directors of lotteries."
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