European Commission Rules Online Gambling Laws Must Comply

A ruling by the European Court of Justice affirms the need of EU members to comply with open-market rules for online gambling.

The Advocate General for the European Court of Justice this week reinforced the need for member countries to comply with EU rules regarding online gambling. Yves Bot issued an opinion against a German law that prevented competition against the nation's sports betting monopoly.

Bot said that claims by Germany that a sports betting monopoly is necessary to prevent gambling addiction demonstrated no protection of consumers not available in an open market, and advised that the law be changed to correspond with EU law. While Bot's decision is non-binding, failure to alter the law could cause the EC to seek infringement penalties against Germany.

While the European Treaty clearly requires member nations to accept licensing and regulation of other members, and demands that goods and services be dealt as in a single market encompassing the EU, several countries have tried to ignore the rules in regard to Internet gambling. Using excuses such as protection of consumers, countries such as France and Germany continue to try to impose standards preventing foreign operators from competing with domestic gaming interests.

Questions had been raised as to the EC's commitment to pursue compliance on online casino regulations, as some recent opinions seem to have permitted the loophole of public protection to widen. But Bot's ruling this week reinstates the EC position that countries must remove discriminatory legislation on online gambling.

Bot found that the German rules imposed an "unjustified restriction on freedom to provide services." He said that a law that restricts foreign operators from competing while encouraging participation with domestic operators is incompatible with established EU law.