If the principles are clear the reality is perhaps less

Are the games they made On 12 October, the French State has been demand by the European Commission to explain how the measures preventing the provision by third parties for services of sportsbook (on included horse racing) have been granted a licence in a Member State are compatible with article 49 of the EC Treaty, recalling the principle of free provision of services within the Union European. Behind this procedure are hidden, in fact, the issues important to the France. Indeed, the French regulations assimilates sportsbook games of chance, which are prohibited, except in the games houses duly authorized by the Ministry of the Interior. No authorization given to the websites of casino or paris, those that are available in France shall be liable to criminal sanctions, other than that operated by the French for games (JDF), which offers different paying sports betting. The site of the PMU, only ability in France to collect online betting on horse racing, enjoys the same protection. The FDJ and PMU thus share the cake of the sports betting online.

If the principles are clear, the reality is perhaps less. A multitude of sites for games, all illegal France, there are nevertheless available for some time already and know a certain success among French Internet users. This reality is the result of a policy of prohibition leads those who want to propose to the French betting an alternative to the paris of the FDJ and PMU to exile in countries authorizing this activity.

A system of "State dealer".

These sites certainly take legal risks since the French judge considers that once a site is available in France, French laws were intended to apply. The September 15 arrest leaders of Bwin sports betting site who obtained a license in Gibraltar will have been a particularly lively illustration. Zeturf, site of paris on the French horse racing operating from Malta, also was sentenced by the TGI Paris on 8 July 2005, following action by the PMU, to end on its website "the activity of making online gambling on horse races organized in France" (1) under fine of 15,000 euros per day of delay. Therefore, the PMU, as the FDJ, well along protect their monopoly.

But the France will always happen to justify the maintenance of such a monopoly Indeed, one might ask whether a system of prior authorisation granted to environmentally friendly sites of the rules of ethics, based on transparency and non-discrimination, would be no more suitable in the era of the Internet. It is certain that such a framework would have the merit of legalizing sites that are committed in the fight against corruption and dependence on the games and the protection of minors, while making it more difficult to the existence of more "suspicious" sites Absolute prohibition regimes do favour not more corrupt parallel systems that they can effectively combat In fact, so is this system of "State dealer" still viable The Commission wants explanations on this point, because, if the community case-law has recognised to Member States the possibility to restrict, or even prohibit gambling (2) in the general interest, according to the ECJ, the general interest should be "the reduction of opportunities game" (3) and this condition is not fulfilled when the State actively promotes the game through its own monopoly. And the warning by the Council of State in 2000 against the increasing and diversified games offer had not stopped him in his zeal. The Decree of 17 January 2006 him imposing to ensure a transparent operation of the games, to combat fraud and to supervise the use of games should, in principle, require it. One wonders however if he were not instead of an ultimate attempt to attempt to justify the monopoly in the eyes of the European Commission and also save a substantial financial windfall for the State.

The France has two months to convince the Commission that its legislation is consistent with European law. Follow accordingly.