E.U. Law: Portugal Gambling Monopoly May Be Legal

[forum_admin]

A Portuguese law giving a state-run charity a monopoly on betting and lottery games is legal if it is designed to combat fraud and other crimes, the European Union's highest court ruled Tuesday.

E.U. rules ensure that companies can provide goods and services freely across the bloc's borders, a point the country's soccer league argued in a lawsuit against the government. But the European Court of Justice ruled that this right can be restricted if the public interest is at stake.

"The prohibition which Portuguese legislation imposes on operators such as Bwin (BWIN.VI) of offering games of chance via the internet may be regarded as compatible with the freedom to provide services," the court said in its ruling.

In Portugal, the Direccao do Departamento de Jogos (Board of the Games Department) da Santa Casa de Misericordia de Lisboa, a national charity, has a broad national monopoly on electronic betting and lotteries, including television, radio and the internet.

[Fullski]

Originally Posted by forum_admin E.U. rules ensure that companies can provide goods and services freely across the bloc's borders, a point the country's soccer league argued in a lawsuit against the government. But the European Court of Justice ruled that this right can be restricted if the public interest is at stake.

And thats the key point. What is the public interest? Theres millions of people that believe that this is AGAINST the public interest - if you are one of them, you can sign the petition for standardised gambling law within the U.K -

Right2bet Petition