New French Sovereignty Row Brewing

Published: Friday, April 01, 2005 Online-Casinos.com

NEW SOVEREIGNTY ROW BREWING

This time it's France...

The French courts could be the next battleground in the sovereignty struggle, where nations within the EU try to assert their authority to exclude companies from other EU nations who wish to carry on business within their borders.

French betting operator Pari Mutuel Urbain has threatened to take the UK's Sportingbet plc and Stanley International Betting, Austria's Bet and Win and Malta's Mr Bookmaker to court for breaking its monopoly by offering bets on French events over the Internet.

Since 1891, the PMU has held a monopoly, and in the thirties this was used in a bid by the government to protect the betting public by controlling the industry and preventing its takeover by Mafia interests.

"These bookmakers are breaking the law of 1891. What they are doing is illegal. We are launching legal proceedings against them," claims Francoise Toussaint, a spokeswoman for PMU. "The four companies have recently launched French internet sites on which they offer odds on a range of French sporting events, including horse races and football matches."

The four companies plan to defend themselves against legal action through an appeal to the European Union's Court of Justice, which in November 2003 forced Italy to drop similar proceedings against a British bookmaker. The European court ruled that as the Italian authorities were actively promoting betting via the state monopoly - and reaping large tax returns from the industry - they could not invoke the need to protect the public in order to prevent foreign competition.

STOP PRESS:

As InfoPowa went to press this week the news was coming in that Britain's big three bookmakers have launched a campaign to smash domestic gambling monopolies in many European countries which prevent them offering bets to hundreds of millions of Internet gamblers.

The Telegraph reported that a large number of EU states are imposing "unfair and illegal trade barriers" to prevent on-line operators, including the 'Big Three' of Ladbrokes, William Hill and Coral, from accessing their markets, according to a detailed report produced by the Association of Remote Gambling Operators.

In many cases the restrictions are being applied to protect domestic gambling monopolies and tax revenues rather than for reasons of genuine public interest, the report says.

The big bookmakers have repeatedly attempted to get a foothold in the potentially lucrative European gambling market but have been rebuffed.

Gambling is a legitimate service, according to the EC Treaty, and European Court of Justice case law has confirmed the legal basis for providing cross-border gambling services.

Clive Hawkswood, general secretary of ARGO, is quoted as saying: "Those opposed to the free movement of remote gambling services in the EU hold deeply entrenched views. However, we are in this for the long haul and will continue to argue strongly that our position is supported by EU law and recent ECJ cases."