EU Court of Justice Rules Against Ladbrokes in Online Gambling CaseDate published: 4 June 2010
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The lengthy and expensive matter came to a head this week when the EU Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a ruling that the Netherlands can continue to block offshore online gambling sites from signing up its players essentially as it sees fit. A judge said that the Netherland's need to block gaming sites 'may be justified by the objectives of consumer protection and the prevention of both fraud and incitement to squander money on gambling, as well as the need to preserve public order.' In other words, the EU Court of Justice said that the Netherlands was within its rights to prevent European online gambling firms from marketing to and signing up Dutch gambling fans if the country sees the ban as a way to help combat 'fraud and crime.' The ruling is seen as a big blow for the European online gambling industry, which wants the popular internet activity to be centrally regulated and controlled by the European Union, and not according to the whims of the individual member states of the EU. Ladbrokes is claiming that the EU Court of Justice ruling has less to do with helping combat fraud and crime then it has to do with protecting the Netherland's long-standing state-licensed lottery operator, De Lotto, which is an acknowledged monopoly. Said John O'Reilly, head of Ladbrokes' egaming business, 'The outcome of these legal proceedings have clearly demonstrated the fragility of the entire Dutch legal framework in relation to gambling.' Earlier in the legal proceedings, O'Reilly told the court 'There is no logic in the fact that the Dutch monopoly can freely compete against us in the UK, but we are prevented from accepting bets from any Dutch resident that find us on the internet.' |
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