As the European Commission warned Austria, France and Italy that their restrictive laws on gambling may be in violation of EU rules, the European Betting Association welcomed the Commssion\’s stance and said that the European market must fundamentally change.
“How long must EU licensed and regulated operators endure legislation which causes wrongful financial harm and deprives their executives of even the basic right to travel freely in the EU Member States,” asked Didier Dewyn, secretary-general of the European Betting Association.
“We hope these new proceedings will put an end to the witch-hunts against private EU licensed operators,” he added.
“The European Commission follows exactly our line of argument and makes clear there\’s an urgent need for regulated competition in Europe,” commented Bwin, whose two co-chief executives were detained by French authorities for allegedly violating online gambling laws.
Liverpool-based Stanley International Betting, which filed a complaint against the Italian authorities in February, also welcomed the EC\’s inquiry.
Managing Director John Whittaker commented: “How many complaints, how many cases against the Italian sports betting regime and how many ECJ rulings will it take before the Italian authorities drop the protectionist measures applied to their national betting market?”
Calculators
