France & Belgium
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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
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