The Press Release Resource

• Tweet

• Tweet

This week the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice once more contradicted the will of the European Commission by declaring that member states have the right to impose gambling monopolies on their citizens. The decision was made in response to a challenge against the Dutch government’s refusal to allocate betting licences to private sector operators, brought forward by the betting firms Betfair and Ladbrokes. ECJ Advocate General Bot said that such governments are entitled to restrictive measures against the private sector in order to counteract fraud in the gaming sector, although these governments are not required to provide any evidence to demonstrate that such criminal activity is actually occurring. He stated the provisions are needed to protect “public order, the prevention of fraud, or the protection of consumers”. The decision was met with criticism from both private operators, who noted the court’s statement ignored the evidence of leading independent studies. The Advocate General’s opinion is based on the assumption that state controlled gambling is less vulnerable to fraud or consumer protection than those in the private sector. Yet extensive research from the independent standards authority of the online gaming industry, eCOGRA, has indicated that two thirds of the responsible gaming standards implemented by leading operators in the private sector exceeded the standards applied by the ten largest gambling monopolies in Europe. It would seem the private sector is leading the way in setting and implementing the highest standards of consumer care. The opinion of the Advocate General is not legally binding, but will act as a recommendation to future legal verdicts. While the European Commission has repeatedly made it clear that gambling monopolies cannot be tolerated under EU competition laws, the contradictory views expressed by the European Court of Justice appear detached from the goals of providing consumers with a dependable service of the highest integrity. The Right2bet campaign continues its pursuit of an open gambling market across the EU.

The petition can be found at www.right2bet.net- right2bet is a EU wide campaign asking people to petition for the right to choose their online betting provider, irrespective of which Member State they operate from. Everyone in the EU should have the right to choose and not have it decided for them.- right2bet stands for freedom of choice and against the injustice of some current European laws.

Sign the petition today at www.right2bet.net