Transcript France & Belgium

France & Belgium
gaming updates
Legal Gaming in Europe Summit
London, 22 January 2007
Thibault VERBIEST
Partner – ULYS
[email protected]
www.ulys.net
Legal Gaming Summit
Content
1. France
Parliament voting new law ►measures
against online gambling operators
2. Belgium
Draft Games of chance Act
Legal Gaming Summit
Draft measures against private gaming operators
Fines against operators of “illegal” online gaming
sites to be doubled from 30 000 euros fine to 60
000 euros for sports betting and lotteries
operators; from 45 000 and 100 000 euros fine to
90 000 and 200 000 for horse betting operators;
Fines against “advertisers”: 30 000 euros +
possibility for courts to multiply this fine by
four times the amount invested in the
advertising expenses
Legal Gaming Summit
ISPs to inform clearly subscribers of the gambling
sites which are considered by Home affairs as
“inappropriate” (“blacklisted”) under sanction of
up to a year imprisonment + €75 000 fine
Banks to stop the flow of funds from individuals
or “blacklisted” companies which organise
betting or gaming activities
Law likely to be voted by the end of February
Legal Gaming Summit
Unlawful character of the Act
Community law principles ► article 49 and
Gambelli
Lack of notification under Directive 98/48
Freedom of expression (ECHR)
Commission currently examining French
answer to letter of formal notice
Legal Gaming Summit
Ongoing actions
Complaint to DG competition
High administrative court seized of consistency of
monopoly with EU law
Lobby against the new law but highly political
climate makes any drastic change unlikely
(presidential elections)
 Annulment by the French Constitutional Court ?
Legal Gaming Summit
Belgium
 Parliament voting on new Games of chance Act
 Possibility for EU remote gaming operators to obtain
“certificate” with Gaming Commission if fit and proper
 All games to be subject to control of Gaming Commission
 Gaming Commission to allow only limited number of
licences
 Act was set to be adopted via 2006 Finance Act but lobby
by National Lottery+ some Belgian casinos
 Act now undergoing normal legislative procedure
 Likely to be adopted as such within 3-4 months
Legal Gaming Summit
Concluding remarks
France toughening its stance but difficult to know
whether it will “walk the talk”
 Gaming policy inconsistent with EC law
 Political matter and pre-electoral period
 Senate report calls for a new simplified and
harmonized gaming policy
Belgium likely to adopt new Act ►regulation
rather than prohibition
Lack of harmonisation between gaming legislation
Thank you for your attention
[email protected]