Online gamblers with an interest in the Eastern European nation of Poland
had reason to celebrate this week with news that the government of Poland is
preparing to license and regulate online gambling. A recent European Court
of Justice ruling in favor of British bookmakers who had been banned from
operating in Italy without a license is expected to be the trigger for
European countries to begin regulating the online gambling industry within
their borders or face trouble with the European Commission. The Warsaw Voice
in Poland reported the government is planning to introduce regulations
similar to those adopted by the Italian government as a result of the ECJ
decision. In handing down its ruling, the ECJ stated: "National regulations
that prohibit the acceptance of bets unless one has a license issued by the
relevant member state restrict the freedom of services", which is against
European Commission regulations. As a result, any gambling company which
seeks to market and accept clients from any European Union state only needs
a license from a single EU country. Industry analysts expect it will take
some time before all EU states fall into line behind the UK and Italy, but
it is inevitable that they must, as they are subject to the laws and
regulations of the European Union. Eventually, it is expected EU states will
compete to offer the most attractive license packages, and the UK will be
left behind with Chancellor Brown's recent announcement of a 15% Remote
Gaming Duty for online casinos. Many in the online gambling industry
expected Brown to announce a tax of 2 or 3%, which would actually serve to
attract online gambling companies to relocate and be licensed by the UK.