Will European Courts Justify Online Casino Gambling Monopoly?
The European Court of Justice has pronounced that a country has the power to limit private operators from entering the business of online casino gambling and Internet gaming, in a decision that came as a bombshell to many. The decision, which pronounced that private operators can be banned from the online casino and gambling field in order to protect and preserve the interests of country citizens, gave direct justification for the maintaining of the current online gambling and lottery monopoly in Portugal.
The case that was brought to court was not linked to online casino gambling directly. However, the results could have a robust effect on the way the online casino industry is run in Europe. The case related to a argument between Austrian online casino giant and the gambling and lottery monopoly in Portugal. “Liga”, a Portuguese soccer club, is sponsored by “bwin” and so, “bwin’s” online casino advertisements were placed on the uniforms of “Liga” players, as well as on “Ligas” websites. The Portuguese charity that held monopoly privileges to online casino gambling and the lottery accused “bwin” of violating upon their space and their position as a monopoly and, therefore, fined “bwin” as well as “Liga”.
Furthermore, the case was carried to the highest court in Europe, the European Court of Justice, who ruled that the government has the right to bar foreign online casino operators in order to combat fraud and other unsafe practices. In the case of “bwin” vs. Portugals gambling monopoly, the court ruled that this ruling applied because, in the court opinion, gambling involves a high risk of fraud, criminal behavior and unsafe practices. It should be noted that “bwin” is a highly reputable online casino gaming group that puts security in high regard and has said that commercial casino operators can combat fraud on their own as well. Not only governments. However, the court opposed and, in brief, gave permission to Portugal to maintain their government monopoly on online casino games and lottery and get “bwin” out of the picture.
This news is a shock, especially in light of recent efforts across Europe to move away from monopolies in the online casino and gambling industry. For example, Denmark just passed rulings in order to scatter the Danish monopoly “Dansk Spil and allow other online casino operators to compete. Other countries all around Europe and the rest of the world have been in the procedure of progress new legislation to regulate the online casino industry and find the means of allowing offshore casino operators to enter the equation. With these new developments, who knows what will happen. Perhaps “Dansk Spil will try to regain their monopoly and other countries around Europe and the world will put a halt on their online casino regulation legislation. What effect will this have on the online casino industry? We will wait and see.
