Category: EU Updates

Advocate General Yves Bot of the European Court of Justice delivered his opinion on 17 December on the cases involving Betfair, Ladbrokes and the Dutch state. His opinion was in favour of the Dutch monopoly De Lotto, as he stated that Member States governments should have the right to implement a gambling system in which an exclusive right is granted to a single operator – i.e. the state. His opinion is non-binding but usually indicates which way the ECJ will deliver its final verdict.

Both Betfair and Ladbrokes are challenging that under Article 49 of the EC Treaty, they should be permitted to freely provide their services in the Netherlands and accept bets from Dutch consumers because they are regulated companies, licensed in the EU. However, the two companies have been prevented by the Dutch state from accepting bets without a Dutch licence, even though they have applied for such licences previously, and been refused.

Following the ECJ verdict of 8 September on the Santa Casa vs. Bwin case, in which the court ruled in favour of the state monopoly, the counsel of the UK firms sought to put some safe distance between the cases, and one of the lawyers went so far as to point out that Betfair and Ladbrokes are not Bwin and De Lotto is not Santa Casa. Predictably, the lawyers of De Lotto endeavoured to link their client to the Santa Casa, perhaps to also encourage a favourable verdict. De Lotto is supported by a number of European Member State governments who wish to maintain their own gambling monopolies protectionism in their own gambling and betting markets.

Following the opinion of Advocate General Bot, a decision on the challenges is expected by the full panel of the European Court during 2010.

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