| | |  | Last Updated: Wednesday, February 27, 2008 |  | | | Six Nations’ Gambling Rules Questioned
- Tuesday, 21 Mar 2006
The European Commission is considering taking legal action against six member countries which have been restricting gambling operations such as online betting and sports gambling, while allowing citizens to take part in national lotteries. The six countries are Germany, Finland, Sweden, Italy, Holland and Hungary and they are accused of restricting the advertising of gambling services or banning the actual services.
Many governments in Europe have begun relying on the revenue from national lotteries because they do not receive enough funds from traditional methods like taxation. While they allow this form of gambling, they restrict other forms claiming that they have a negative affect on society. The European Commission however, is arguing that the lotteries provide these governments with a monopoly on gambling and do not allow for competition in the industry. The Commission also tried to include gambling into its innovative law which would open up competition in services across Europe, but members of the parliaments in Europe insisted on an exclusion of the gambling clause.
While the European governments may site social protection as the reasons they wish to limit gambling, gambling operators say that it is clear that they do not want to loose out on revenue from the national lotteries which would happen if the gambling market was opened up. The gambling operators praised that European Commission’s considered legal action.
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