Nouvelles de l'industrie - Mai 2008

French Prime Minister’s Report Proposes Rigid Gambling Regime

08/05/2008: An official report prepared for France’s Prime Minister François Fillon suggests that any ‘controlled opening’ of France’s online gambling market must be accompanied by tough restrictions to shore up the new regime. The report recommends the government explore whether bans on payments and advertising for unauthorized sites, originally included in last year’s Delinquency Law, could be squared with EU law under a more open licensing system - from which betting exchanges, spread betting and certain types of online casinos games seem likely to nevertheless be excluded.

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British Peers Denounce French Gambling Laws

07/05/2008: A French law that defends its “state monopoly on gambling” and puts gamblers on a par with child pornographers was yesterday denounced by the British Government yesterday as “atrocious.” The criticism comes as France prepares to respond to sustained EC pressure over its gambling laws.

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Member States Resist ECJ Probe Into Gambling Law ‘Consistency’

02/05/2008: Upon the judges’ specific invitation, participants at this week’s public European Court of Justice hearing on Bwin and the Portuguese Football League’s challenge to the betting monopoly held by Portugal’s Santa Casa agreed that EU Member States must be consistent in their application of restrictive gambling policies. However, representatives from all but Bwin were adamant that the critical ‘consistency requirement’ must be applied as narrowly as possibly, and not across sub-sectors of the gambling industry.

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Change In Approach Prompts Further Bloodletting At Svenska Spel

02/05/2008: Following the departure of the company’s CEO just weeks ago, Swedish monopoly gaming operator Svenska Spel has been affected by two more defections in its ranks. Two divisional managers resigned this week, indicating their reluctance to embrace the change in managerial direction away from market competitiveness towards a more restricted offering favoured by the Swedish government and the company’s new chairwoman.

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