Brussels, 17/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomed the Court of Justice ruling on 16 February in the Costa-Cifone cases. Stanleybet, which was central to the cases before the Court (see related article), has spoken of a historic decision. “The Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU), following the Gambelli and Placanica rulings, recognises for the third time that Stanleybet was discriminated against by the Italian licensing system”, it says in a press release. Stanleybet Chief Executive David Purvis said: “Stanleybet has received from the CJEU a definitive recognition of its right to enter the Italian market under conditions of equality and fairness vis-à-vis the other national operators. This ruling confirms once again that Stanleybet was discriminated against by the Italian Republic”. The company says the European Commission must take heed of this ruling and review its 2010 decision to close infringement proceedings against Italy, the Court ruling demonstrating that this move was premature.
EGBA shares this view and says that the Court had “made particularly clear the 'red lines' that member states must observe when they regulate gambling; it is high time for the European Commission to enforce the consistent case law of the CJEU and pursue complaints and infringement procedures accordingly”. The European State Lotteries and Toto Association, representing incumbent operators, says that the ruling “does not call into question the key elements on gambling that have been established by the EU Court in its standing jurisprudence” - that is, no mutual recognition in the field of gambling (member states do not need to allow an operator onto their soil simply because that operator is licensed elsewhere in Europe) and effective regulation at member state level: member states have the right to set their own rules for the purposes of protecting consumers from dangerous or illegal provision, provided these rules remain consistent. (SP/transl.rt)