Court Rules Against Dutch Casino Monopoly; EC Admonishes Proposed I-gaming Monopoly

In a main proceedings judgement last Friday (2 December 2005) the Administrative Court of Breda rendered a landmark post-Gambelli judgement in the proceedings between the Compagnie Financière Régionale B.V. (hereinafter : “CFR”) against The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereinafter: “the State”). The decision of the Breda Court can be qualified as no less than a historic victory for the supporters of the principles enshrined in the Treaty of Rome, notably articles 43 and 49 of the Treaty. After various Dutch interlocutory Courts and one main proceedings Court found the Dutch gaming legislation and policies to be compliant with the so-called Gambelli criteria in several cross-border internet gambling cases , the Breda Court ruled that the State monopoly on (casino) gambling is not effective and there is no specific evidence to substantiate that the restrictive casino legislation is coherent and consistent....

Also, a proposal for a new title in the Dutch Gaming Act of 1964 was recently sent to the Parliament. The new suggested law would provide modifications to the Act on games of chance and contains temporary provisions on games of chance via the Internet. In effect the Ministry of Justice envisions to grant Holland Casino a three-year license to exclusively operate interactive games of chance....

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