Tuesday, March 27, 2007

A spokesman for the EU said today that the European Commission gave an order
for Germany to overturn its imminent Internet gambling ban, or to stop
advertising for its horse betting monopolies, or it will face legal action.
Brussels, Germany hosts a state run betting monopoly which the European
Commission says is illegal according to its laws. The new law passed in
Germany banning Internet gambling sites is being challenged by Austria and
the United Kingdom, two countries in the EU that are legalizing online
betting sites. According to Reuters, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter
Verheugen wrote to German regional state governments on Friday giving them a
month to change a draft treaty on the issue. "We asked Germany to reconsider
the total ban on lottery and sports betting on the Internet. We think a
proposed total ban is disproportionate and there are less restrictive
measures, such as mandatory prior registration and strict guarantees on
identification," a European Union Commission official said on Friday about
the situation. The official said the draft treaty was inconsistent by
banning online lotteries, sports betting and casino games, but allowing
horse racing. This is another very positive sign for Internet gambling sites
in the US. Earlier in the week EU ruled that all European countries in the
Union who have state run lotteries, or in-country casinos, horse tracks, dog
tracks, etc. must also legalize Internet gambling. The German law that was
passed earlier in the year banning Internet gambling is almost identical in
meaning to the US law that was passed in October of last year in that they
ban Internet gambling yet carve out exceptions for forms of gambling in
their own country. Beyond the EU rulings, the WTO has sent a letter to the
US reminding them that they have until April to respond to their ruling in
the Antigua and Barbuda vs. the United States case. The past three weeks
have seen the UIGEA under attack, starting with Barney Frank offering a
repeal against the unjust law, then with the EU ruling against monopolizing
countries in the Union, then with the announcement of Louisiana dropping all
warrants against Internet gambling operators, then with the Neteller case
getting postponed and the promise of the release of millions of dollars in
funds to US clients, and now this EU warning to Germany. Analysts still
doubt a reversal of the UIGEA any time soon, but the facts being presented
by the rest of the world, as mentioned above, may prove those analysts
wrong.