Favorable Ruling From the ECJ for Online Gambling - 03-07-07
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March 7 - The online gambling industry has received some promising news since the events in the attempt to ban online casinos in the U.S. In a court ruling that will definitely help to dismantle and take away power away from state-run gambling monopolies in Europe, the European Court of Justice ruled against the Italian government.
The European Court of Justice stated that their attempt to prosecute individuals for the collection of internet bets on behalf of Stanley Leisure was "contrary to community law" and is in violation against fundamental principles of the freedom to provide services across country borders.
The ruling states that Italian authorities were negligent in that they did not have the required authorization to enforce criminal charges on Placanica, Palazzese and Soricchio. The ECJ stated the exclusion of online gaming operators and withholding gaming licenses goes beyond the prevention of fraud and crime.
It will be fascinating to see how the repercussion of the ruling is going to affect other casino and sports betting monopolies in Europe. An example is Turkey who has just passed legislation to ban online gambling and criminally target foreign online casino gaming operators who provide services to Turkish citizens. The Turkish government will most likely face a similar verdict to that of Italian authorities.
