7 6 June 2008

News:

Operators may have to prove that they have seven years' experience in the field of online gambling to be considered for a French licence, if the Government follows the recommendations of a report by Alain Bauer of the Observatory for National Delinquency (OND).

The Spanish Central Gambling Commission (LAE) has established a working group that will present a draft online gambling Bill to Spain's 17 autonomous communities by the end of 2008, and plans to implement a law that would allow European Union (EU) licensed operators to offer online gambling services in Spain by June 2009.

Sportingbet, Unibet and Bwin's successful defence of a trademark claim made by Paris Saint-Germain football club in The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris on June 17 was in sharp contrast to the same court's 30 May decision in favour of the Fédération Française de Tennis (FFT) in its dispute with Unibet and Expekt.

Features:

While France's efforts to open up its online gambling market are to be welcomed by operators, the speed at which it is attempting to introduce new regulation is a cause for concern. The timetable is breathtaking - France began its regulation process in April 2008 with the publication of the Dureiux report and by the end of this year, a Bill will be tabled in Parliament, with a view to issuing licences at the end of 2009.

The French Conseil d'Etat, on 9 May, refered two questions to the ECJ about the compatibility of a national monopoly with the EC Treaty. Mark Miller, Solicitor and Avocat at Hammonds Hausmann, examines the significance of this decision.

International treaties signed by the US have become central to negotiations to open up the US market to online gambling. In the first part of a two-part article, Linda Shorey, John Krill Jr. and colleagues from K&L Gates examine how treaties are defined in the US Constitution, action that can be taken when treaties are violated and the rights of detainees under the Vienna convention. The second part of this article will apply these principles to US internet gambling cases, including Antigua's World Trade Organisation dispute with the US over its obligations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

The European Commission has recently filed suit against Spain in the first of several pending infringement procedures relating to the cross-border provision of gambling services¹. The Commission argues that the way in which gambling winnings are taxed in Spain is discriminatory. Martin Arendts, an Attorney at Law with Arendts Anwälte, considers the Commission's argument that these rules are contrary to the EC Treaty and the EEA Agreement, as they restrict the freedom to provide services.

The Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission has regulated online gaming since 1996. Murray Marshall, Legal Counsel to the Kahnawá:ke Gaming Commission, gives a regulatory update.

The Bulgarian Government has drafted amendments to its Gambling Act that would legalise online gambling operators with their servers based in Bulgaria, under strict conditions. Katyusha Ivanova, an Associate with Noblex Ltd., examines the proposed regulations and potential issues with them.

The European Commission has issued formal comments on Italy's draft remote gambling decree. Valérie Peano, an Advocate with Studio di Consulenza Societaria e Tributaria and a member of the International Gambling Observatory, comments.