France regulates online gaming market and awards bwin sports betting and poker licenses in time for the Football World Cup
Vienna – As one of the first operators, bwin, the world's leading online gaming provider, has been granted French online gaming licenses. Issued by the French regulator ARJEL, the online sports betting license entitles the French subsidiary bwin Entertainment Services (B.E.S. SAS) to offer online sports betting to French customers starting on 9 June 2010. In obtaining this license, all the requirements have been met to ensure the timely launch of a French label just before the Football World Cup. "We were confident throughout that we would be able to start off in a regulated French market before the World Cup kick-off. In obtaining the license, we have successfully jumped the biggest hurdle," says Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin Interactive Entertainment AG. Preparations for the launch of bwin.fr are all complete.
Along with the license for sports betting, B.E.S. SAS was also awarded a poker license. The poker license will become valid as soon as the requisite legal conditions have been established in France. As a result, real-money poker will presumably be available on the French label bwin.fr starting end of June.
Law: Important first step
"We are pleased that, following Italy, another country has followed the call for a clearly regulated and transparent market. The present law is a great first step. There are still a few more miles to go on the road toward establishing legal conditions that warrant fair competition in France. We will be working closely together with the French authorities in order to take these developments forward," says Norbert Teufelberger.
Joint venture SAjOO also obtains sports betting and poker licenses
There is nothing more to stop the start of sajoo.fr in the next few days. SAjOO, a joint venture uniting bwin and the French media group Éditions Philippe Amaury (Amaury Group), has also been issued a provider license by the French regulator. "With our dual-brand strategy, bwin is all set to take on a leading role in the newly regulated French online gaming market," says Norbert Teufelberger.
Dienstag, 8. Juni 2010
Montag, 7. Juni 2010
Online gambling: barriers removed in Italy
IP/10/504
Brussels, 5 May 2010
The European Commission has ensured that Italian citizens will have access to a wider choice of authorised on-line gambling services as a result of changes made to Italy's laws on online gambling. The Commission has therefore closed a series of legal cases against Italy concerning this legislation. The Commission had previously found that Italy's restrictions on foreign operators were disproportionate and had started legal proceedings against Italy for breaching EU rules on the freedom to provide services. Following the Commission's legal action, the Italian authorities engaged in an open and constructive dialogue with the Commission and amended its on-line gambling legislation.
Before Italy changed its law, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and the National Horse Breeders Enhancement Society (UNIRE) had the exclusive right to organise sports betting, including online gambling. As a result, other legitimate European gambling operators could not offer their online services in Italy. Moreover, access to their web sites was effectively blocked from Italy.
While EU law permits Member States to restrict the offering of gambling services in the public interest, for example to prevent gambling addiction or organised crime, such restrictions must be coherent with the Member State's own behaviour in offering the very same services. Furthermore, any measures taken by Member States to restrict the market have to be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Acting upon a complaint, the Commission found that Italy's restrictions on foreign service providers and measures to block access to the web sites at that time were disproportionate. As a result, the Commission started infringement proceedings against Italy in 2006 (IP/06/436 and IP/06/1362).
How will citizens and businesses now benefit?
With its new law, Italy has now opened its online gambling market. Citizens in Italy will now have a broader choice of online gambling services for sports betting, which will continue to be authorised and supervised by the Italian authorities. Meanwhile, other European gambling operators will have the possibility to apply for Italian licences and offer their services in Italy. Nevertheless, gambling will continue to be safeguarded in the general interest in order to protect vulnerable consumers and to prevent gambling addiction as well as criminal activities.
Background
The Commission acted upon receiving a complaint in 2003. After investigating the case, the Commission started infringement proceedings against Italy in 2006 by sending a letter of formal notice, the first stage of an infringement procedure. Following an open and constructive dialogue between the Commission and the Italian authorities, Italy notified the Commission in 2009 it had amended its laws. The Commission welcomes the new Italian law that will allow for the cross border provision of services, with clear rules for the authorisation and the granting of licences to domestic and European operators and has decided to close the case.
More information on the Commission's legal cases against Member States is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm
Brussels, 5 May 2010
The European Commission has ensured that Italian citizens will have access to a wider choice of authorised on-line gambling services as a result of changes made to Italy's laws on online gambling. The Commission has therefore closed a series of legal cases against Italy concerning this legislation. The Commission had previously found that Italy's restrictions on foreign operators were disproportionate and had started legal proceedings against Italy for breaching EU rules on the freedom to provide services. Following the Commission's legal action, the Italian authorities engaged in an open and constructive dialogue with the Commission and amended its on-line gambling legislation.
Before Italy changed its law, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) and the National Horse Breeders Enhancement Society (UNIRE) had the exclusive right to organise sports betting, including online gambling. As a result, other legitimate European gambling operators could not offer their online services in Italy. Moreover, access to their web sites was effectively blocked from Italy.
While EU law permits Member States to restrict the offering of gambling services in the public interest, for example to prevent gambling addiction or organised crime, such restrictions must be coherent with the Member State's own behaviour in offering the very same services. Furthermore, any measures taken by Member States to restrict the market have to be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Acting upon a complaint, the Commission found that Italy's restrictions on foreign service providers and measures to block access to the web sites at that time were disproportionate. As a result, the Commission started infringement proceedings against Italy in 2006 (IP/06/436 and IP/06/1362).
How will citizens and businesses now benefit?
With its new law, Italy has now opened its online gambling market. Citizens in Italy will now have a broader choice of online gambling services for sports betting, which will continue to be authorised and supervised by the Italian authorities. Meanwhile, other European gambling operators will have the possibility to apply for Italian licences and offer their services in Italy. Nevertheless, gambling will continue to be safeguarded in the general interest in order to protect vulnerable consumers and to prevent gambling addiction as well as criminal activities.
Background
The Commission acted upon receiving a complaint in 2003. After investigating the case, the Commission started infringement proceedings against Italy in 2006 by sending a letter of formal notice, the first stage of an infringement procedure. Following an open and constructive dialogue between the Commission and the Italian authorities, Italy notified the Commission in 2009 it had amended its laws. The Commission welcomes the new Italian law that will allow for the cross border provision of services, with clear rules for the authorisation and the granting of licences to domestic and European operators and has decided to close the case.
More information on the Commission's legal cases against Member States is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm
Donnerstag, 3. Juni 2010
ECJ rules on Dutch gambling laws: Industry calls on the European Commission to propose legislation at EU level
Today, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) rendered two preliminary rulings (1) addressing key questions relating to the compliance of the Dutch legislation with the EU Treaty. The cases (C-203/08 and C-258/08) at stake originate in national proceedings involving Ladbrokes and Betfair, two companies, established in the UK.
Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA, said: “The Court has confirmed that if a Member State wants to prohibit or channel gambling through a single operator it has to comply with strict features that we consider are clearly not met in the context of the Dutch legislation. But it is now for the national judge to assess the consistency of the Dutch gambling policy and to make a final decision”.
She adds: “Internet raises new questions and challenges that cannot be resolved through the judicial process. It is for the European legislator to ensure that this IT-based medium which allows for the highest security standards warrants consistent customer protection and fraud control throughout the EU.”
As confirmed by the Internal Market Commissioner Barnier, there is momentum to take action at EU level in the context of a Green Paper (2) and - whenever necessary - through infringement procedures (3) against Member States that do not comply with EU law.
Sigrid Ligné concludes: “We are confident that reform of the gambling laws will take place in the Netherlands, as they already do throughout the EU. Beyond the legal considerations, you also have to look at the reality of the market. There is a consumer demand for online gaming in the Netherlands, like there is all over Europe. Increasingly, EU Member States like Italy, Denmark and France realize that online gaming is a popular leisure activity and are opening their market to competition. EGBA urges the Dutch authorities to also start regulating the market.”
In line with previous case law, the ECJ confirms that under certain strict circumstances a monopoly can be allowed to promote its offer for the purpose of fraud prevention. However, according to the ECJ:
• If the Netherlands is “pursuing a policy of substantially expanding betting and gaming, by excessively inciting and encouraging consumers to participate in such activities (…) it would have to be concluded that such a policy does not limit betting and gaming activities in a consistent and systematic manner and is not, therefore, suitable for achieving the objective of curbing consumer addiction to such activities” (Ladbrokes, case C-258/08, 28)
• "Since the objective of protecting consumers from gambling addiction is, in principle, difficult to reconcile with a policy of expanding games of chance characterised, inter alia, by the creation of new games and by the advertising of such games, such a policy cannot be regarded as being consistent unless the scale of unlawful activity is significant and the measures adopted are aimed at channeling consumers’ propensity to gamble into activities that are lawful” (Idem, point 30)
• In the context of that assessment, it is, specifically, for the national court to determine whether unlawful gaming activities may constitute a problem in the Netherlands and whether the expansion of authorised and regulated activities would be liable to solve such a problem (Idem, point 29).
When it comes to the national licensing schemes, the ECJ also confirms that:
• "Article 49 EC must be interpreted as meaning that the principles of equal treatment and the consequent obligation of transparency are applicable (…) in the field of games of chance” (Betfair case C-203/08, point 62)
• “If a prior administrative authorisation scheme is to be justified even though it derogates from a fundamental freedom, it must be based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the authorities’ discretion so that it is not used arbitrarily” (Betfair case C-203/08, point 50)
_ _ _
Notes
(1) The preliminary ruling system (under Article 267 TFEU, ex-Article 234 of the EC Treaty) enables national courts to ensure uniform application of EU law in all the Member States. The ECJ has jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of EU law in relation to specific legal questions raised by the national courts. In such rulings the Court makes every effort to give a reply which will be of assistance in resolving the dispute, but it is for the referring court to draw the appropriate conclusions from that reply in a final decision.
(2) A Green Paper released by the European Commission is a discussion document intended to stimulate debate and launch a process of consultation, at European level, on a particular topic. It may be followed by a White Paper, an official set of proposals for future EU legislation. A Green Paper on gambling is expected to be published by the European Commission in the autumn 2010.
(3) Infringement procedures brought by the European Commission (under Article 258 TFEU, ex-Article 226 of the EC Treaty) allow the ECJ to give a judgment with regard to the compliance of national legislations with EC law. Under such procedure the ECJ does not just give its interpretation of E law on specific selective questions but is able to have a broader analysis assessing as well the factual situation at stake. Seven Member States (Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands and Greece) are currently subject to an infringement procedure in relation to their gambling legislation and have already received a reasoned opinion, the last procedural step before the start of an infringement case at the ECJ.)
press release of EGBA
Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA, said: “The Court has confirmed that if a Member State wants to prohibit or channel gambling through a single operator it has to comply with strict features that we consider are clearly not met in the context of the Dutch legislation. But it is now for the national judge to assess the consistency of the Dutch gambling policy and to make a final decision”.
She adds: “Internet raises new questions and challenges that cannot be resolved through the judicial process. It is for the European legislator to ensure that this IT-based medium which allows for the highest security standards warrants consistent customer protection and fraud control throughout the EU.”
As confirmed by the Internal Market Commissioner Barnier, there is momentum to take action at EU level in the context of a Green Paper (2) and - whenever necessary - through infringement procedures (3) against Member States that do not comply with EU law.
Sigrid Ligné concludes: “We are confident that reform of the gambling laws will take place in the Netherlands, as they already do throughout the EU. Beyond the legal considerations, you also have to look at the reality of the market. There is a consumer demand for online gaming in the Netherlands, like there is all over Europe. Increasingly, EU Member States like Italy, Denmark and France realize that online gaming is a popular leisure activity and are opening their market to competition. EGBA urges the Dutch authorities to also start regulating the market.”
In line with previous case law, the ECJ confirms that under certain strict circumstances a monopoly can be allowed to promote its offer for the purpose of fraud prevention. However, according to the ECJ:
• If the Netherlands is “pursuing a policy of substantially expanding betting and gaming, by excessively inciting and encouraging consumers to participate in such activities (…) it would have to be concluded that such a policy does not limit betting and gaming activities in a consistent and systematic manner and is not, therefore, suitable for achieving the objective of curbing consumer addiction to such activities” (Ladbrokes, case C-258/08, 28)
• "Since the objective of protecting consumers from gambling addiction is, in principle, difficult to reconcile with a policy of expanding games of chance characterised, inter alia, by the creation of new games and by the advertising of such games, such a policy cannot be regarded as being consistent unless the scale of unlawful activity is significant and the measures adopted are aimed at channeling consumers’ propensity to gamble into activities that are lawful” (Idem, point 30)
• In the context of that assessment, it is, specifically, for the national court to determine whether unlawful gaming activities may constitute a problem in the Netherlands and whether the expansion of authorised and regulated activities would be liable to solve such a problem (Idem, point 29).
When it comes to the national licensing schemes, the ECJ also confirms that:
• "Article 49 EC must be interpreted as meaning that the principles of equal treatment and the consequent obligation of transparency are applicable (…) in the field of games of chance” (Betfair case C-203/08, point 62)
• “If a prior administrative authorisation scheme is to be justified even though it derogates from a fundamental freedom, it must be based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria known in advance, in such a way as to circumscribe the exercise of the authorities’ discretion so that it is not used arbitrarily” (Betfair case C-203/08, point 50)
_ _ _
Notes
(1) The preliminary ruling system (under Article 267 TFEU, ex-Article 234 of the EC Treaty) enables national courts to ensure uniform application of EU law in all the Member States. The ECJ has jurisdiction to give preliminary rulings on the interpretation of EU law in relation to specific legal questions raised by the national courts. In such rulings the Court makes every effort to give a reply which will be of assistance in resolving the dispute, but it is for the referring court to draw the appropriate conclusions from that reply in a final decision.
(2) A Green Paper released by the European Commission is a discussion document intended to stimulate debate and launch a process of consultation, at European level, on a particular topic. It may be followed by a White Paper, an official set of proposals for future EU legislation. A Green Paper on gambling is expected to be published by the European Commission in the autumn 2010.
(3) Infringement procedures brought by the European Commission (under Article 258 TFEU, ex-Article 226 of the EC Treaty) allow the ECJ to give a judgment with regard to the compliance of national legislations with EC law. Under such procedure the ECJ does not just give its interpretation of E law on specific selective questions but is able to have a broader analysis assessing as well the factual situation at stake. Seven Member States (Denmark, Finland, France, Sweden, Hungary, the Netherlands and Greece) are currently subject to an infringement procedure in relation to their gambling legislation and have already received a reasoned opinion, the last procedural step before the start of an infringement case at the ECJ.)
press release of EGBA
RGA: Spanish Presidency issues gambling report
RGA calls for meaningful action to make national laws EU compliant
The Spanish Presidency of the EU submitted a progress report on gambling in the EU to the Competiveness Council meeting of 25-26 May. The RGA welcomes the Spanish Presidency’s efforts to produce a balanced document, but argues strongly that the Council’s work in this area should not prevent the European Commission from vigorously defending the rules of the Internal Market where the gambling laws of many Member States are clearly non-compliant.
The Spanish Presidency’s progress report focuses on the definition of illegal gambling, enforcement measures, transitional periods in the context of new licensing regimes in national markets and public campaigns against so-called illegal gambling.
Unlike previous Presidencies, the Spanish authorities consulted the main stakeholders (including the RGA), whose views are presented in a separate document but not in the progress report itself. Although the RGA does not necessarily agree with all the opinions expressed in the progress report, it notes with satisfaction that the document explicitly mentions the requirement that national legislation must comply with EU law.
This report continues the work initiated by France in the Council in the 2nd half of 2008. The RGA welcomes a debate on gambling within the Council or in any other forums and the exchange of knowledge that it entails. Nevertheless, this debate (or any other in the context of a possible European Commission’s green paper on this subject) should not be used as an excuse by Member States to maintain or introduce legislation that is in breach of EU law. The Commission, should make this clear and fulfil its duty as Guardian of the Treaties by pushing on with the pending gambling-related infringements that have been opened against several Member States.
Clive Hawkswood, RGA Chief Executive, said: We understand the wish of EU countries to consider these issues collectively and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to express our views to the Spanish Presidency. However, we continue to question the added value of this debate in the Council given the lack of progress in promoting fair competition within EU markets. All of the valid concerns expressed about consumer protection can be fully addressed through appropriate regulation, but far too much of the reports so far have really been about protecting domestic markets and suppliers from competition.This would simply be unacceptable if it was any other industry, but unfortunately where gambling is concerned many Member States are more than willing to disregard the rules of the Internal Market. They will continue to do so until the European Commission takes action to stop them’.
The Spanish Presidency of the EU submitted a progress report on gambling in the EU to the Competiveness Council meeting of 25-26 May. The RGA welcomes the Spanish Presidency’s efforts to produce a balanced document, but argues strongly that the Council’s work in this area should not prevent the European Commission from vigorously defending the rules of the Internal Market where the gambling laws of many Member States are clearly non-compliant.
The Spanish Presidency’s progress report focuses on the definition of illegal gambling, enforcement measures, transitional periods in the context of new licensing regimes in national markets and public campaigns against so-called illegal gambling.
Unlike previous Presidencies, the Spanish authorities consulted the main stakeholders (including the RGA), whose views are presented in a separate document but not in the progress report itself. Although the RGA does not necessarily agree with all the opinions expressed in the progress report, it notes with satisfaction that the document explicitly mentions the requirement that national legislation must comply with EU law.
This report continues the work initiated by France in the Council in the 2nd half of 2008. The RGA welcomes a debate on gambling within the Council or in any other forums and the exchange of knowledge that it entails. Nevertheless, this debate (or any other in the context of a possible European Commission’s green paper on this subject) should not be used as an excuse by Member States to maintain or introduce legislation that is in breach of EU law. The Commission, should make this clear and fulfil its duty as Guardian of the Treaties by pushing on with the pending gambling-related infringements that have been opened against several Member States.
Clive Hawkswood, RGA Chief Executive, said: We understand the wish of EU countries to consider these issues collectively and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to express our views to the Spanish Presidency. However, we continue to question the added value of this debate in the Council given the lack of progress in promoting fair competition within EU markets. All of the valid concerns expressed about consumer protection can be fully addressed through appropriate regulation, but far too much of the reports so far have really been about protecting domestic markets and suppliers from competition.This would simply be unacceptable if it was any other industry, but unfortunately where gambling is concerned many Member States are more than willing to disregard the rules of the Internal Market. They will continue to do so until the European Commission takes action to stop them’.
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