Some good news for US gambling

[BiggDawgg]

EU Warns Germany about Internet Gambling Ban, Good Sign for US
March 24, 2007

A spokesman for the EU said today that the European Commission gave an order for Germany to overturn its imminent Internet gambling ban, or to stop advertising for its horse betting monopolies, or it will face legal action.

Brussels, Germany hosts a state run betting monopoly which the European Commission says is illegal according to its laws. The new law passed in Germany banning Internet gambling sites is being challenged by Austria and the United Kingdom, two countries in the EU that are legalizing online betting sites.

According to Reuters, EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen wrote to German regional state governments on Friday giving them a month to change a draft treaty on the issue.

"We asked Germany to reconsider the total ban on lottery and sports betting on the Internet. We think a proposed total ban is disproportionate and there are less restrictive measures, such as mandatory prior registration and strict guarantees on identification," a European Union Commission official said on Friday about the situation.

The official said the draft treaty was inconsistent by banning online lotteries, sports betting and casino games, but allowing horse racing.

This is another very positive sign for Internet gambling sites in the US. Earlier in the week EU ruled that all European countries in the Union who have state run lotteries, or in-country casinos, horse tracks, dog tracks, etc. must also legalize Internet gambling.

The German law that was passed earlier in the year banning Internet gambling is almost identical in meaning to the US law that was passed in October of last year in that they ban Internet gambling yet carve out exceptions for forms of gambling in their own country.

Beyond the EU rulings, the WTO has sent a letter to the US reminding them that they have until April to respond to their ruling in the Antigua and Barbuda vs. the United States case.

The past three weeks have seen the UIGEA under attack, starting with Barney Frank offering a repeal against the unjust law, then with the EU ruling against monopolizing countries in the Union, then with the announcement of Louisiana dropping all warrants against Internet gambling operators, then with the Neteller case getting postponed and the promise of the release of millions of dollars in funds to US clients, and now this EU warning to Germany.

Analysts still doubt a reversal of the UIGEA any time soon, but the facts being presented by the rest of the world, as mentioned above, may prove those analysts wrong.


-- CasinoGamblingWeb.com