| March 1 - In a very similar way to that of how Victor Chandler was summoned by Israeli officials to pull out his online gambling operations from Israel, the former CEO of 888 Holdings - John Anderson, was recently summoned by French authorities for what seems an inquisition with regards to 888's French football club, Toulouse sponsorship.
888 Holdings owns and operates the well known gaming sites - Reef Club Casino, Pacific Poker and Casino on Net (888), stopped advertising for Toulouse last year when the French government stated certain forms of advertising which included advertisements for online gambling, were deemed illegal under French law. Taking this as a warning, 888 decided to pull their sponsorship. Although Anderson is now an independent director with the company, he was at the time of the Toulouse sponsorship deal, the CEO.
Maybe French authorities did not realize that 888 had removed their advertising, or maybe they are taking their warning a step further bearing in mind that 888 continues to permit French players to open accounts at their online casinos and poker room.
888 do not have much to go on at this time. It is definite that the French gambling monopoly has been frowning upon the international online gambling and sports betting scene.
In 2006, two CEO's of Bwin (sports betting site) were arrested in France. Last month, French authorities cancelled the European Poker Tour's four-day tournament scheduled last week at the Casino Barri? de Deauville. The most likely reason for this is because of its sponsorship by the online poker site - Poker Stars. There is at this stage no information whether Anderson faces criminal charges.
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