Online gambling firm has won the right to operate in France
French gambling monopoly undermined by web firm’s victory
France’s highest court, the Cour de Cassation, overturned a previous ruling which barred Malta’s Zeturf from operating in France. The Court said a monopoly would break EU competition laws. France operates a state monopoly on gambling and Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) is the operator for horse racing betting. It brought the case against Zeturf, which was allowing French people to gamble online on horse races. The Court, though, ruled against PMU, saying that the monopoly it enjoyed was not consistent with EU competition law. Article 49 of the EC Treaty guarantees free movement of services within the EU. One French legal expert said that the ruling will probably open up France’s betting market. 
There is a power struggle in Europe about the regulation of online gambling. France and Germany are trying to maintain state-controlled betting monopolies, while the European Commission is attempting to enforce Article 49 of the Treaty, which should undermine monopolies.