Online Gambling Press

European Commmission Examining German, Swedish Gambling Restrictions

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EU regulators sent official requests Thursday for information about gambling restrictions introduced in Germany and Sweden that triggered complaints from online betting companies. EU rules allow national authorities to impose controls on gambling to protect consumers, but say they cannot discriminate against companies from other European Union countries.

Online betting firms claim the Swedish and German rules are designed to benefit state-run gaming operations. They complain new German rules introduced Jan. 1 effectively ban all online gaming except betting on horse racing and say Swedish rules introduced in 2006 give the state a monopoly of online poker.

The request for information could lead to the EU launching legal action if it decides the restrictions inhibit fair cross-border competition.

“States who openly choose to ignore the law and jurisprudence of the EU when protecting state revenues … must be identified and brought to book,” said John Whittaker, managing director of British-based bookmaker Stanleybet International.

gamblingplanet.org

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