The continuing battle over the online gaming and poker world isn’t limited to the United States alone. While at the same time being progressive in the regulation and taxation of the industry is accepted by some countries in Europe, other nations still are attempting to prohibit their citizens from participating in online poker and casino games. A recent article in the London Telegraph highlights this issue once again.
In a story from the Telegraph from earlier this week, Charlie McCreevy – the European Commissioner for the Internal Market and Services, which has vehemently monitored the online gaming industry across European borders – has threatened the Netherlands government for their tactics regarding the online gaming company Betfair. McCreevy believes that the Dutch nation is unfairly preventing Betfair from accepting action from the country for what he calls “protectionist” reasons. He has threatened to take his legal action all the way to the European Court of Justice, which is the judicial arm of the European Union.
The Telegraph article quotes Commissioner McCreevy as stating, “We believe the Dutch are in direct contravention of the rules of the internal markets and will be investigating the matter. The state has adopted a very protectionist approach to all forms of gambling.”
Betfair has been taking their own approach to affecting the laws of the Dutch government. Last week, the company filed a lawsuit against the Dutch Ministry of Justice that accused the Netherlands of blocking Betfair action in a “desperate move” to protect the position of De Lotto, the state gaming monopoly. Betfair claims it is allowed to accept bets from citizens of the Netherlands because it is a licensed operator in Europe and because Dutch residents are allowed to bet online with the governmentally operated lottery.
The Dutch, on the other hand, have claimed that it is illegal for the country’s banks to accept such betting action because Dutch laws do not allow for the licensing or operation of Internet gambling companies.
Commissioner McCreevy has been one of the people at the forefront of pushing for cohesive Internet gaming rights across the European continent. In the Telegraph article, he is quoted as saying, “We announced last year that at least ten of our member states were in contravention of internal market rules on gambling. While many members have engaged, the Dutch has completely failed to. There has been no progress at all.”
A look back at the tumultuous nature of online gaming and poker reveals that there is a tremendous uphill battle at stake for the online gaming and poker industry throughout the world. Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank is attempting to push legislation through the halls of Congress that would introduce regulation and taxation into the American landscape and halt the UIGEA, which was passed in 2006. Europe, however, is still wrestling with the issue.
While regulation has been accepted in some countries such as England, other countries have attempted to nationalize the operations for the benefit of their own countries and prevent the freedom of trade in online gaming. Nations such as France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Spain have been the major players in this nationalization effort, but some of those countries have changed their minds in the face of potential penalties or restrictions by the European Union through the Treaty of Commerce that all member nations have signed. In March, however, the EU admitted that they were unable to come to a comprehensive agreement regarding the streamlining of access to internet gaming across the continent.
