EBA supports EC gambling probe

2007-03-22 17:39:17

The European Betting Association (EBA) has revealed that it supports the European Commission's decision to extend its investigation into the gambling legislation of several European countries.

Germany and the Netherlands will now come under scrutiny following the EC's issuing of Reasoned Opinions against Denmark, Finland and Hungary regarding the provision of betting services.

The EC says that cross-border services are permitted under the terms of the EU Treaty, and criticised the states' attempts to deal with the matter.

"None of [the countries] have shown any indication or willingness to reconsider their monopolistic restrictions or to engage in a process of constructive dialogue with other stakeholders," a statement from Brussels read.

"On the contrary, some of these member states have introduced even more restrictive legislation against private European-licensed operators," it added.

"There are several other member states that are under similar investigation and we invite them to move towards recognition and licensing schemes for the European private online operators to compete cross-border in the internal market," added EBA secretary general Sigrid Ligné.

Finland's state-owned Veikkaus betting service is one of the operators under threat from the EC ruling.


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