E.U.'s Advocate General Supports Online Gambling Claim

The European Union's Advocate General has brought down a decision on the betting case involving Winner Wetten before the Court of Justice in the E.U. that will have far reaching effects on the online gaming industry there. The decision was that E.U. law holds primacy over national legislation, confirming that the primacy of E.U. law over national legislation was without exception and did not allow a transitional period for nations to comply with E.U. law. This implies that all member nations must immediate put a halt to national legislation that excludes E.U. compliance laws. The European Gaming and Betting Association, has applauded the decision, EGBA Secretary General Sigrid Ligne said the organization welcomes Advocate General Bot's decision. Winner Wetten, a German company accepted bets on behalf of an online betting service provider Tipico Co, based and licensed in Malta. The E.U. court considered North Rhine-Westphalia´s law on sports betting in force in 2006 to be inconsistent with the freedom to provide services as interpreted in the Gambelli legal precedent. The Advocate General said that inconsistent legislation was "inappropriate for the protection of consumers." The different German states are at odds on the issue of online gaming and this opinion by the Advocate General will clarify that there is support for the online gambling industry claim of inequality among European member states. Ligne also said opening another debate, "We agree with the conclusions of A.G. Bot. Essential is A.G. Bot's confirmation that it is detrimental to consumers to have national gambling legislation that doesn't offer consistent and systematic protection. Many Member States do not have consistent and systematic gambling legislation; this opinion clearly strengthens our argument." It still remains to be seen whether any dissenting member nations of the E.U. will comply with clear cut and needed fairness rules. Countries that do not follow the set program for online gaming are slow to respond and risk fines for their inconsistent behaviour. Fines may not be enough to make them do the right thing, at least not right away.