FRENCH UIGEA WON'T FLY WITH E.C.

7 March 2008

Will the French go ahead anyway on March 31?


A statement by the trade association the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) this week focused attention on a move by the French government to introduce a law against payments to gaming companies unless they are part of the French state monopolies Francaise des Jeux and PMU.

In the statement EGBA secretary general Sigrid Ligne welcomed a decision by the European Commission to issue a detailed opinion arguing against the draft decree proposed by the French.

“Today’s action consolidates the Commission’s position that unjustified payment blocking in our sector clearly contravenes EU law. We welcome the Commission’s action and hope that this will send a clear signal to other EU and EFTA Member States that such proposals will not be tolerated," said Ligne.

The opinion could put a spanner in the works for French plans to adopt the draft decree after March 31st. If it does go ahead in defiance of the EC opinion it could find itself the subject of infringement proceedings.

The decree is the second of two put together under the 2007 French Delinquency Act, the objective being to create technical obstacles which could prevent French gamblers from using gambling and betting sites other than France's protected state monopolies. Apparently the first draft places obligations on Internet Service Providers to discourage users from entering online gambling websites other than those of the state's Francaise des Jeux and PMU monopolies.

That first decree is already the subject of a separate European Union infringement proceeding. It was never adopted following a detailed opinion issued by the EC against it in July 2007.

The EC's opinion on the French decree extends the standstill period of non-adoption until March 31. During that time, France can't adopt the decree, and after that time, if France moves forward to adopt the new restrictions, the Commission can immediately launch infringement proceedings.

Ligne claimed that Germany and Norway are also considering payments restrictions to EU-licensed gaming operators, saying: “Such restrictions are difficult to implement, easy to circumvent, inefficient and foster the growth of an underground market.”

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