Online Gambling Sites can now be banned in EU

In a ruling by Europe’s highest court, Britain and other EU countries can now ban foreign online gambling websites after a marathon legal battle by Ladbrokes.com.

This ruling follows a 7-year legal battle after Netherlands-Based Lottery, De Lotto, won an injunction against Ladbrokes claiming that this online gambling service had no license for gaming in the Netherlands.

Ladbroke’s appeal was passed to the European Court of Justice, which acknowledged that Dutch gaming legislation is a technically restriction on EU rules guaranteeing freedom of movement and freedom to provide services. However, according to the Judges, such restriction may be justified by the objectives of consumer protection and the prevention of fraud and squandering of money on gambling.

The judgement confirmed that a member state is entitled to take the view that the mere fact than an operator, such as Ladbrokes, lawfully offer services in that sector via the Internet in another member state is not a sufficient assurance that national consumers will be protected. A member state can prohibit the operation of games of chance on the Internet.

After losing one of its earlier legal battles in December, Ladbroke’s director of remote betting and gaming, John O’Reilly, requested the Judges to uphold principals of free and fair competition across borders.

Today’s ruling may see a large number of online gambling related websites being banned from access by many EU residents.