EC REJECTS SWEDISH AND FRENCH MONOPOLY RATIONALE (Update)

29 June 2007

Now it's comply, give better reasons....or face the European Court of Justice

The scheduled European Commission meeting took place as planned today (Wednesday) and now the enforcement body has requested France and Sweden to amend their laws “following consideration of their replies to letters of formal notice sent in April and October 2006”.

In its "reasoned opinions" to Sweden and France (who were earlier asked to justify their gambling monopolies - see previous InfoPowa reports) the Commission says it is not satisfied with the explanations and if the Swedes and French cannot comply with its demands or provide a more satisfactory justification within the next 60 days the matter could be referred to the European Court of Justice.

The Commission’s statement says the restrictions placed on sportsbetting operators are not compatible with Article 49 of the EC Treaty, guaranteeing the free movement of services and “....have not been shown to be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory”.

The statement continued: "Furthermore, in the Commission's view, existing national operators cannot be regarded as non-profit organisations, given that they are subject to strict annual revenue targets and often rely on commercial retail outlets to market their various gambling services."

Brussels gave Greece two months to respond to a "letter of formal notice", the first step in the EU's infringement procedure against countries that break the bloc's laws.

"We hope that the Commission will continue in their efforts to force these countries to act in accordance with the EU treaty and EU jurisprudence," British sports betting firm Stanleybet International said.

Internet gambling firm Unibet's Swedish Chief Executive Petter Nylander said in a statement the EU decision was "an important step" on the road to a modern gambling market.

Sigrid Ligné, secretary-general of the European Gaming and Betting Association, welcomed the actions, saying it was a decisive step to end national protectionism. Ligné said: “To claim that only closed, nationally monopolistic markets can protect the consumer when it comes to gambling services is clearly untrue.”

Online Casino News courtesy of InfoPowa