French Gambling Offer Should Be Rejected...

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Published: Monday, November 19, 2007 https://www.gowanbo.cc

Offer would be like throwing out the baby with the bathwater says Stanleybet boss

Stanleybet International's managing director has nailed his colours to the mast in regard to French offers to partially open up its heavily monopolised gambling market, calling on European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy to reject France's opening gambit of liberalising its pool-betting market while keeping its fixed-odds market closed.

Stanleybet International managing director John Whittaker told the Reuters news agency this week that the offer was inadequate. France and the European Commission are currently exploring a way forward on the issue, which has seen the EC threaten to challenge in the European Court of Justice the French government's protectionist approach to gambling. This is seen as acting against the EU principles of free movement in trade and services between member nations.

French ministers have hinted that France could open up its pool-betting market served by PMU monopoly, but does not want to open its fixed-odds betting market served by Francaise des Jeux.

Whittaker's UK fixed-odds betting firm Stanleybet said France's offer fell well short.

"I don't believe for a minute Commissioner McCreevy will accept such a situation whereby 'we give up that if you leave us alone'," Whittaker told Reuters in an interview.

"If McCreevy did that, it would be like throwing out the baby with the bathwater," said Whittaker, whose company instigated two key ECJ decisions the industry believes are slowly chipping away at national betting restrictions. In one of the rulings the ECJ said a betting business legally established in one EU state could offer its services elsewhere in the bloc and that restrictions can only be for reasons of general public interest.

France says protections are needed to stop money laundering and addiction and that privately run fixed-odds betting could be vulnerable to corruption.

The European Commission currently has legal actions, or warnings of ECJ litigation against 10 countries: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands.

He faces stiff opposition from many states where national monopolies bring in huge sums of cash to government coffers.

In coming weeks, Greece and Germany are also in focus for the gambling industry, Reuters reports.

A court adviser in Greece will say on December 11 whether the authorities were wrong to refuse Stanleybet a betting licence. Britain's biggest bookmaker, William Hill , has also applied for a licence to open betting shops in Greece. And in Germany a treaty banning private online gambling is due to come into effect next January if it has been ratified by at least 13 of the country's 16 states by the end of this year.

The European Commission says the ban is disproportionate. Whittaker has threatened to lodge a complaint if the German initiative becomes law, saying that his company would argue the treaty was "anti-European."

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French Court Orders A Reality Check

Friday, January 18, 2008 mgowanbo.cc

Senior judicial court wants confirmation that the French government respects EU law

A spokesman for the European Betting and Gaming Association (EGBA) described the online gambling trade organisation as "delighted" today (Friday) following a decision by a senior French judicial court to verify the French government's stance on respecting EU law.

EGBA said in a statement that the Court of Appeal of Versailles had called into question the compatibility of French gaming legislation with EU law, placing the burden of proof on the French authorities to justify that their regulatory framework is consistent, proportionate and justified.

The court's decision today follows a request by Didier Dewyn, ex-CEO of Mr Bookmaker, a gaming company licensed in Malta, to annul criminal proceedings brought against him on 16 April 2007 for allegedly organising an “illicit lottery” and “clandestine betting on horse races”.

The Court of Appeal of Versailles requested additional information in order to ascertain whether the criteria used under European Court of Justice case law are respected by the French gaming system. The Court considered that referring a question for a preliminary ruling to the ECJ was also not necessary as EC law was clear enough.  

The decision of the Court of Appeal of Versailles, which relies on the consistent jurisprudence of the ECJ and in particular the Placanica ruling of 6 March 2007 was welcomed by EGBA. The decision is in line with the ruling of the Cour de Cassation, France’s Supreme Court, in the Zeturf case of 10 July 2007. The French Supreme Court quashed a decision of the Court of Appeal which condemned private operator Zeturf in proceedings brought by the PMU.

The European Court of Justice has ruled that a betting business legally established in one EU state may offer its services elsewhere in the 27-nation trade alliance and that restrictions can only be for reasons of general public interest.

Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA commented: “We are delighted with this decision. It is an important one and comes in the general context of the commitment taken by the French authorities to propose a controlled opening of the French gaming market by March 2008.”

The outcome could influence the outcome of a case against another online gambling executive, Petter Nylander of Unibet who was arrested at Schipol airport last year on a  warrant issued by a French judge at the request of French state gambling monopolies.

European nations who are members of the European Union but continue to support state gambling monopolies are under serious pressure from the courts and Charlie McCreevy's European Commission to comply with the principle of free movement of goods and services between member nations.

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法国高级法院要求核实法国博彩法

2008-01-19

昨天，法国凡尔赛上诉法院决定对法国博彩法是否符合欧盟法律进行调查，要求法国管理当局提供证据来证明其博彩法律与欧盟法律是一致的和相称的，并解释说明。欧洲博彩业同业协会（European Gaming and Betting Association - EGBA）对此决定表示欢迎。

欧盟司法法院已经裁定，欧盟任何成员国的博彩公司在27个欧盟国家内经营都是合法的，只有在公众利益受到威胁时才可以进行限制。

EGBA秘书长Sigrid Ligne表示：“我们为这个决定感到高兴。法国之前提议2008年3月有限度开放博彩市场，该决定促进法国兑现该举措。”

凡尔赛地区法院是依前Mr Bookmaker（一家获得马耳他博彩牌照的博彩公司，现属于Unibet）总裁Didier Dewyn的要求做出的决定，他于2007年4月16日被刑事指控在法国“组织非法彩票博彩”和“秘密赛马博彩”。

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French Gambling Monopoly Turnover Falls

Friday, February 01, 2008 mgowanbo.cc

First drop in 15 years reported

The troublesome French government gambling monopoly Francaise des Jeux has admitted to a worrying drop of 1.8 percent - the first in fifteen years - in annual turnover.

In commenting on the slip, Chief executive Christophe Blanchard-Dignac hinted at his ambitions in a liberalised French online market, saying that FdeJ is to broaden its product range and create a multimedia arm to develop interactive games in anticipation of the likely opening of the French market.

Francaise des Jeux has been at the root of several French legal actions against executives from companies based in other EU member countries. The company, which turns over tens of millions of Euros every year employs almost 900 people and is 72 percent owned by the government. Other shareholders include  Lottery Issuers (20 percent) Agents (3 percent) and employees (5 percent)