TIME TO TAKE THE DANISH GAMBLING MONOPOLY TO THE ECJ

30 November 2007

Four years of delay is enough, ex-Danish MP urges European Commission


Freddy Blak, a Danish Member of Parliament from 1989 to 2004, is fed up with the delays in putting an end to the Danske Spil state gambling monopoly in Denmark...and he's doing something about it.

This week, the MP wrote an open letter to European Union compliance commissioner, Charlie McCreevy urging him to immediately haul Denmark before the European Court of Justice.

In his letter, Blak draws the attention to several key points:

1) It is now four years since the European Commission instituted an infringement procedure against the Danish gambling monopoly.

2) The clear cut case against Denmark has now been delayed and in limbo for too long, making it the longest running case of all European Union countries.

3) Despite the passage of those four years, the Danish state gambling monopoly Danske Spil continues to violate Article 43 (freedom of establishment) and Article 49 (free movement of services) of the EC Treaty.

Blak notes that many foreign providers of sportsbetting have been "discriminated against and ridiculed in Denmark over the past six months."

He also points to the activities of the Danish Gambling Authority which disadvantaged European online gambling group Unibet in the Post Danmark Rundt cycle tour and other inequities, and comments on the hypocrisy of the government stance on problem gambling whilst marketing Danske Spil gaming extensively.

In closing the former politician refers to a survey conducted earlier this year and published in the Danish daily Ekstra Bladet which showed that 74 percent of the 15 000 respondents would prefer to see the end of the state gaming monopoly.

"Therefore, Mr. Commissioner, it must be time to take further actions on this issue," writes Blak. "The time has simply come for the Commission to have Denmark and the Danish Gambling Authority tried before the European Court of Justice."

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