Highest EU Court: State monopoly for internet gambling
* EU Member States can ban foreign online gambling operators such as Bwin, even if they are based and licensed in another EU Member State
* Clear and undisputable ruling by the highest EU Court
* Great victory for national governments and state lotteries
* Ruling puts end to online gambling hubs such as Gibraltar, Malta and the Channel Islands
Luxembourg/Brussels 8 September 2009 - Today the European Court of Justice has issued its much awaited ruling on the case (C-42/07) opposing the Portuguese Professional Football League 'Liga Portuguesa' and commercial online operator bwin against the Portuguese national lottery, Departamento de Jogos da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a member of European Lotteries (EL).
For the first time, the Court explicitly confirmed that national governments can grant such a state monopoly not only for traditional land-based gambling and but also for gambling via the internet and other electronic means of communication.
EL-President Friedrich Stickler welcomed the judgment: "Today's ruling by the highest European Court explicitly states that governments can prohibit commercial online gambling operators such as bwin from offering games of chance via the internet to their citizens, even when these operators are based and licensed in another EU Member State."