Maltese court rejects French gambling decision

2007-01-16 16:07:56

A court in Malta has ruled in favour of an online bookmaker after refusing to uphold a French court's judgement on the matter.

In July 2005 a French tribunal declared that Maltese bookmaker Zeturf had to cease taking bets on races in France, following a case instigated by Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), a French horseracing operator.

The decision is a boost for online gaming in Europe, with the potential for a precedent to be set if the court's reasoning turns out to be sound.

The court in Malta decided that "the matter was of administrative nature and therefore falls outside the scope of the EC regulation," and was not responsive to PMU's claims, arguing that the operator was "incorporated as a commercial entity and yet regulated by an 'ad hoc' law that gives it power that is usually not allocated to private enterprise".

Because of PMU's extraordinary powers, the case does not fall under commercial or civil law, the Maltese court asserted.

A number of online operators are currently set up in Malta due to the country's liberal taxation rules.


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