Press release
MEPs plan to question Commission on the future of gambling in Europe
Free movement of services - 11-10-2006 - 18:36
MEPs in the Internal Market committee plan to take a fresh look at the gambling sector, via an oral question to the Commission, which was adopted on Tuesday. This follows Parliament's vote earlier this year to exclude gambling from the scope of the Services Directive.
Welcoming the Commission’s April 2006 decision to launch infringement procedures against seven Member States (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden) concerning their restrictions on national sports betting markets - as these are regarded as incompatible with article 49 of the EC Treaty on the freedom to provide services - committee members ask the Commission to inform Parliament of the current state of the proceedings.
They recall a recent Court of Justice ruling (Gambelli, C-243/01), which states that national laws restricting the activities of betting companies constitute "a restriction on the freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services", and ask whether further action is planned in other gambling-related sectors "where discriminatory practices are identified".
The committee also asks the Commission to report on any and all initiatives it may be preparing "to develop a legal framework for on-line gambling" - initiatives which, MEPs hope, "will allow Member States to safeguard consumers and protect minors while allowing legitimate operations by reputable firms".
It is now for the leaders of Parliament's political groups to decide when to put the question on the plenary agenda for an answer from the Commission and a debate.
09/10/2006
Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection
Chair : Arlene McCarthy (PES, UK)
Chair : Arlene McCarthy (PES, UK)
Oral Question
REF.: 20061009IPR11478