Poland to License, Regulate Online Gambling
A ruling last month by European Court of Justice in favor of British bookmakers, who had been banned from operating in Italy without a license, paved the way for the new rules, and is expected to be the catalyst for other European countries to start regulating the Internet gambling industry within their borders. If they don't do so, they may have trouble with the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union's government; experts tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com.
The Polish government is planning to introduce regulations similar to those adopted by the Italian government as a result of the ECJ decision, experts said.
"National regulations that prohibit the acceptance of bets unless one has a license issued by the relevant member state restrict the freedom of services, which is against European Commission regulations," said the European Court of Justice. "As a result, any gambling company which seeks to market and accept clients from any European Union state only needs a license from a single EU country."
Internet industry analysts expect it may "take some time" before all EU states conform to the new rules, but it is inevitable that they must, as they are all under the jurisdiction of the laws and regulations of the European Union.
Eventually, experts tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com, it is expected EU states will each attempt to offer the most attractive license packages. That may leave the U.K. behind, unless it changes its mind over Chancellor Brown's recent announcement of a 15% Remote Gaming Duty for online casinos.
Experts said many in the online gambling industry had expected Brown to announce a tax of 2% or 3%, which would actually attract online gambling companies to relocate and be licensed by the U.K.
In addition to the European Court of Justice's ruling, there has been other positive news of late for online gambling, including the move to legalize the entertainment venue, once again, in the U.S., under the auspices of U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), and the World Trade Organization's rulings against overly-restrictive U.S. gambling rules, experts tell Onlinecasinocrawler.com
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