European Commission Gambling Infringements: State Of Play Introduction

Transcription

1 European Commission Gambling Infringements: State Of Play Introduction For the first time in more than five years, the commission has opened a new series of infringement proceedings against countries for restricting the supply of gambling services. On Wednesday November 20, 2013, new cases were opened against six countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Poland and Romania On the same day, Sweden was hit with the most serious threat ever handed out by the commission for gambling infringements. The Swedish government was given two months to show that its online sports betting and poker laws comply with EU rules or risk being taken to court. The move comes towards the end of Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier s time in office, and follows a call from the European Parliament in September to launch infringements against member states that appear to breach EU law.

2 What are infringement proceedings? Steps of an infringement proceeding: Step 1: Letter of formal notice Requests information from the member state, which must be answered within a specific time period. Step 2: Reasoned opinion A formal request to comply with EU law and requires the country to tell the commission what measures are being taken. Step 3: Court of Justice of the European Union The commission may request the court to impose a financial penalty if successful. The European Commission has powers, according to Article258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), to start an action against a member state and propose infringement proceedings if a state fails to observe its obligations under the treaty. Typically the commission gives member states two months to respond to each stage. However, the College of Commissioners must then vote in favour of sending a reasoned opinion, or taking a member state to court, which makes any escalation of infringements a political decision. From early 2006 until 2008 the commission initiated inquiries and started infringement proceedings against member states in the field of land-based and online gambling. Most of these procedures were left pending and no country was ever taken to court over such matters. In that first wave of infringements opened under the former Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy were: Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands and Sweden.

3 Map Of European Commission Infringement Cases Opened For Gambling Source: GamblingCompliance Market Barriers Report 2012/13, European Commission Accurate as of November 22, 2013, checked against European Commission information mbling/infringements/index_en.htm

4 Updated List Of Infringements: Pending Or Closed Country Games Step 1 of the Procedure: Letter of formal Notice Austria Belgium Land-based casinos Online gambling and betting Step 2 of the Procedure: Reasoned Opinion Infringement Proceedings Formerly Closed October 2006 No Not officially confirmed. November 2013 No No Cyprus Gambling November 2013 No No Czech Republic Online gambling November 2013 No No Denmark Sports betting April 2006 March 2007 Not officially confirmed. Finland Sports betting April 2006 March 2007 Yes (November 2013) France Online sports and horse race betting October 2006 June 2007 Yes (November 2010) Germany Sports betting and online games of chance April 2006 and January 2008 No No

5 Updated List Of Infringements: Pending Or Closed Country Games Step 1 of the Procedure: Letter of formal Notice Step 2 of the Procedure: Reasoned Opinion Infringement Proceedings Formerly Closed Greece Sports betting June 2007 February 2008 No Hungary Sports betting April 2006 March 2007 No Italy Sports betting and April and No Yes (May 2010) online games of chance October 2006 Lithuania Online gambling November 2013 No No The Sports betting April 2006 February 2008 No Netherlands Poland Online gambling November 2013 No No Romania Sweden National gambling policy Sports betting and poker games and tournaments November 2013 No No April 2006 for sports betting and January 2008 for poker June 2007 for sports betting; November 2013 for online betting and online poker No

6 Sweden Svenska Spel s steps to improve consumer protection: In the last two months, Svenska Spel has stopped offering player bonuses and announced that from July 2014 player cards will be mandatory for all products, except casinos and scratch card games. Speaking in November about the planned registration of most players, chief executive Lennart Käll said: Consumer protection is a very important question and it s time for us to put our foot down now as the biggest operator on the market and tell everyone what we believe is important. The commission issued two reasoned opinions and gave Sweden two months to act after it decided that gambling monopoly Svenska Spel was not subject to strict state control. In response, Erik Thedéen, the state secretary to Sweden s minister of financial markets, told GamblingCompliance: The government considers the Swedish legislation to be compatible with EU law. The focus of the gambling policy is a healthy gambling market and to minimise the risk of people getting a problem with gambling. Håkan Hallstedt, the director general of Sweden s Gaming Board, said that although a court referral would not be ideal, the Swedish government believes its gambling regulation is in line with EU law. In contrast, the commission has closed an infringement case against the monopoly system in neighbouring Finland. The commission approved of the Finnish government providing an evaluation of the tight regulation of Finland s three gambling monopolies and the enforcement of its gambling rules.

7 Equally Important: The Countries Left Off Infringement cases are still open for Germany, Greece, Hungary and The Netherlands. It is believed that cases for Austria and Denmark have been closed at an earlier date, but no official confirmation was available in time for this report. Online operators and commercial bookmakers expressed particular disappointment about Greece and Germany. The commission said cases remained opened either because the national rules in question were still under investigation or in the process of being substantially amended. Germany The commission expects an evaluation of Germany s Interstate Treaty on Gambling, passed in 2012, within two years of it entering into force. That deadline will expire on July 1, 2014, and the commission has reserved the right to take action if the treaty is found to be inconsistent under EU law. Greece The government is in the process of re-drafting online gambling legislation in the wake of monopoly OPAP s privatisation. The commission has contacted Greece to explain how the new laws, which in earlier drafts would hand OPAP exclusive control of online sports betting, would comply with EU law.

8 Authors: U.K. Office Suite 501, Capital Tower 91 Waterloo Road London SE1 8RT T: +44 (0) F: +44 (0) Daniel Macadam Managing Editor (Europe) T: (44) E: Rita Gyaraki Legal Analyst T: (44) E: GamblingCompliance has launched a new division for tailored research, due diligence and political intelligence. Download the brochure or contact us to find out more. GamblingCompliance