European Commission nearing legal action against restrictive gambling markets
Wednesday 27th June 2007
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it is in the process of making a legal decision in their actions against France, Sweden and Greece, three countries that have been unwilling to open up their gambling markets to foreign competition.
'There will be some decisions made probably tomorrow (June 27) by the college (of commissioners) on a number of member states,' Oliver Drewes, a spokesman for the European Union's executive arm, told a regular briefing yesterday. 'This concerns France, Greece and Sweden for the moment. Those are the decisions on the calendar for tomorrow.”
Foreign betting companies such as William Hill and Stanley Leisure have faced insurmountable barriers when trying to break through state owned gambling monopolies, with both companies failing to corner a slice of the Greek market, dominated by state owned lottery company OPAP.
The EC has justified its attack of the aforementioned countries by arguing that they are not complying with the EU’s aim of freedom of movement for goods and services.
The European Commission (EC) has announced that it is in the process of making a legal decision in their actions against France, Sweden and Greece, three countries that have been unwilling to open up their gambling markets to foreign competition.