Days after the executives of BWin were detained for allegedly violating gambling laws, France announced that it would sharply increase fines for companies found to be advertising illegal betting. While Budget Minister Jean-Francois Cope said that the current situation was not a \’French fad\’ and that other European countries were looking at the issue very closely, sources close to the EC revealed that the Commission would challenge France over restrictions in the sports gambling sector, possibly as early as next month.