NYLANDER TO HEAD FOR FRANCE MONDAY (Update)

26 October 2007

"We just want this circus to end as soon as possible," says online gambling CEO's lawyer


After a brief appearance in the Amsterdam District Court Wednesday afternoon, during which his legal team told an extradition hearing they would not fight his transfer to France on a warrant of arrest issued in June this year at the behest of French gambling monopolies, Unibet CEO Petter Nylander was released to the more comfortable surroundings of a local hotel after agreeing to remain in the Netherlands.

Nylander had earlier in the week been detained at Schipol airport on a warrant based on 19th century French protectionist laws, creating an international furore that included criticism from the European Commission.

It is understood that Petter will travel to France on Monday to face the judge who issued the warrant, which has caused some red faces in a French government currently trying to negotiate a rapprochement on Internet gambling with EU officials. The Budget Ministry said that it regretted the timing of Nylander’s arrest and hoped that the FDJ and the PMU would drop the complaints that started the case against his firm.

Speaking outside the court, Nylander's Belgian lawyer Ewout Keuleers told Associated Press: "We just want this circus to end as soon as possible." He added: "It is disproportionate to try to enforce a criminal case against Mr. Nylander."

Reporting on the case, The Times Online claimed that thousands of French residents are defying the law to place bets online with companies outside France. The French casino industry also wants an end to the bar on its entry to online gaming, and the French government has taken a more conciliatory approach recently with European Commission officials, who want to see a more liberal attitude toward other EU member states involved in Internet gambling..

It described Nylander’s arrest as the boldest action in a rearguard campaign to save two monopolies created in the 19th century, the Française des Jeux (FDJ), which runs lotteries, and the PMU horse-racing board.The two organisations account for half the annual Euro 20 billion turnover from betting in France, with state-licensed casinos taking the rest. These pay 60 percent of their earnings to the French treasury.

Unibet is registered in Malta, operated from Britain and listed on the Stockholm stock exchange. It claims to have 1.8 million customers in 150 countries. Company spokesmen said that it was outraged by France’s disregard for EU law. And Nylander, who lives in London, told reporters that he would not stop offering his company’s services in France.

“We are doing nothing illegal because we have a licence for Britain,” he told Dutch newspapers. “According to the European rules, if you have a licence for one member state, you are authorised to use it in the others.”

Dominique Santacru, Nylander’s French lawyer, said that the arrest was indefensible. “Mr Nylander is the head of a registered business . . . and he is arrested like a common thief,” he said.

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