The Commission fully acknowledges the seriousness of the problems related to match fixing that are affecting the ethics and integrity of sport. In the Communication on Developing the European Dimension in Sport (Communication from the Commission to the EP, the … Read More
The prevention of fraud and money-laundering are amongst the main objectives of Member States regarding public order. In principle, all existing national gambling regulations seek to prevent and tackle gambling fraud in order to protect consumers as well as gambling … Read More
The success of a national gambling policy also depends on a Member States’ ability to effectively enforce its national rules. For this purpose Member States can use preventive and responsive enforcement measures. Preventive enforcement measures Preventive enforcement means aim at … Read More
Bilateral cooperation agreements More recently Member States’ regulators have started to enter into bilateral cooperation agreements. On 28 June 2011 the French and Italian gambling authorities signed a first crossborder cooperation agreement. The purpose of the agreement is to improve … Read More
The increased supply of online gambling services, authorised and unauthorised, their crossborder impact and the progressing regulation of gambling services in Member States raises the immediate question about the need for enhanced administrative cooperation and efficient national enforcement. The regulatory … Read More
The European Commission opened, under the EU state aid rules (Articles 107 and 108 TFEU), two formal investigations in the field of gambling. One formal final decision has been adopted whilst the other one is pending: • Denmark: here the … Read More
Seat requirements The CJEU has held that “the requirement that an undertaking create a permanent establishment or branch in the Member State in which the services are provided runs directly counter to the freedom to provide services since it renders … Read More
Reserving the grant of licenses to non-profit entities The CJEU assessed in Sjöberg and Gerdin the compatibility with EU law of national legislation which makes the award of a licence to organise gambling activities subject to the condition of the … Read More
Licensing systems for certain categories of offline gambling are common in many countries. A growing number of Member States is introducing licensing systems for the provision of online gambling services. These licenses may be issued on the basis of a … Read More
Consistency of the national policy should also be assessed by reference to the gambling sector taken as a whole, in particular in regard to other types of games of chance, which are not subject to the respective monopoly. In this … Read More
The CJEU has accepted in steady case-law111 that Member States may justify limitations on the number of operators allowed to offer games of chance by invoking the objective of “preventing the use of betting and gaming activities for criminal or … Read More
Member States must not take, facilitate or tolerate measures that would run counter to the achievement of the stated objectives of a given national measure. Thus, restrictions on gaming activities are suitable to achieve their public interest objectives only insofar … Read More
