MORE TALKS ON FRENCH ONLINE GAMBLING POLICIES

9 November 2007

European Commission and French government seek to avoid legal confrontation


Early this week French government delegates and European Commission officials faced off across a negotiating table in Brussels to find a way past the former's protectionist policies on gambling, which conflict with EU principles of free pasage of trade and services.

The preliminary meeting agreed that further talks were necessary to avoid France being taken to the European Union's top court for restricting competition in sports betting, according to reports from the Reuters news agency.

France's Budget Minister Eric Woerth and European Affairs Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet met the Commission's internal market chief, Charlie McCreevy, who had previously sent a final warning to France for banning private betting firms, with the next step the European Court of Justice.

The parties to the dispute have agreed that there will also be political and technical talks to open up the market in France, which is dominated by state-controlled lottery Francaise des Jeux and horse betting firm PMU.

Further meetings will be held in February and March to find a solution to end the legal action before France takes over the EU presidency in June.

McCreevy's spokesman, Oliver Drewes, said the legal issues had not been resolved and that the legal action would continue. "A process of intense dialogue will be started on technical and political issues, with the aim of meeting again in early February," Drewes said.

The French put a more positive spin on the initial meeting, with Woerth telling reporters: "We indicated to Mr McCreevy France was ready to gradually open up its gaming market".

The European Commission has launched preliminary legal action against France and nine other EU states over what it sees as restrictions on competition in gambling.

Woerth said any opening of the market would have to meet a list of French demands, including tax conditions and powers to combat money laundering and unlicensed online betting sites (see previous InfoPowa reports).

The French also gave an undertaking that there will be no repetition of the arrest of online gambling executives such as Petter Nylander, the Unibet CEO arrested last week at Schipol airport on a French warrant who was subsequently released on bail. The arrest warrant was rooted in a complaint by French monopolies Francaise des Jeux and PMU that Unibet breached 19th-century laws protecting state-owned monopolies.

The European Commission criticised France last month over the arrest, and spokesman Oliver Drewes said after the Brussels meeting: "The French ministers also confirmed there will be no new kinds of complaints issued similar to the one that led to the arrest of Mr Nylander."

Sigrid Ligne, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association, appeared to be losing patience with the process when she commented: "Negotiations have been taking place since June. Promises have been made, but no concrete solutions nor concessions have been made. All of this in the context of criminal procedures such as the Unibet one.

"We hope that talks of a controlled opening are real and that the Commission received serious guarantees from France and that today's discussion is not there to buy time once again."

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