BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) – The European Commission said Thursday it has begun investigating three more European Union member nations to see if they are restricting access to their gambling and online sports betting markets.
The EU’s executive office said it is seeking information from France and Italy on sports and online betting and from Austria on the casino industry. Those investigations are in addition to probes of a half-dozen other nations, including Germany and the Netherlands, that it began in April.
“I have made no secret of the fact that I intend to pursue these inquiries,” said EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy.
In France last month, two executives of the Austrian online company BWIN were jailed for three days for allegedly breaking French gambling laws by moving into the national market. The move highlighted the dispute between online and national betting monopolies in Europe.
“I also have concerns about the legal uncertainty suffered by sport betting operators and related stakeholders,” McCreevy said in a statement.
Many of the 25 EU nations have state-owned companies that dominate national markets and want to protect their interests. There is free movement across the EU for services, but restrictions can be applied if they protect a general interest and are applied consistently.
The European Betting Association said, however, that the market must fundamentally change.
BWIN co-chief executives Manfred Bodner and Norbert Teufelberger have said they plan to take France to the EU’s highest court, the European Court of Justice, following their detention in Monaco last month.
“How long must EU licensed and regulated operators endure legislation which causes wrongful financial harm and deprives their executives of even the basic right to travel freely in the EU Member States,” asked Didier Dewyn, EBA secretary-general. “We hope these new proceedings will put an end to the witch-hunts,” he added.
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