# C_2007096EN.01002101.xml

| 28.4.2007 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 96/21 |
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28.4.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 96/21

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Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 March 2007 — (Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Lecce (Italy)) — Criminal proceedings against Gianluca Damonte

(Case C-466/05) (1)

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(First subparagraph of Article 104(3) of the Rules of Procedure - Freedom of establishment - Freedom to provide services - Interpretation of Articles 43 EC and 49 EC - Games of chance - Collection of bets on sporting events - Licensing requirement - Exclusion of certain operators by reason of their type of corporate form - Requirement of police authorisation - Criminal penalties)

(2007/C 96/36)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Tribunale di Lecce

Criminal proceedings against

Gianluca Damonte

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunale di Lecce — Interpretation of Articles 43 EC and 49 EC — National law requiring authorisation to be obtained before the activity of collecting bets can be pursued

Operative part of the order

| 1. | National legislation which prohibits the pursuit of the activities of collecting, taking, booking and forwarding offers of bets, in particular bets on sporting events, without a licence or a police authorisation issued by the Member State concerned constitutes a restriction on the freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services laid down in Articles 43 EC and 49 EC respectively. |
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1.

National legislation which prohibits the pursuit of the activities of collecting, taking, booking and forwarding offers of bets, in particular bets on sporting events, without a licence or a police authorisation issued by the Member State concerned constitutes a restriction on the freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services laid down in Articles 43 EC and 49 EC respectively.

| 2. | It is for the national court to determine whether, in so far as national legislation limits the number of operators active in the betting and gaming sector, it genuinely contributes to the objective of preventing the exploitation of activities in that sector for criminal or fraudulent purposes. |
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2.

It is for the national court to determine whether, in so far as national legislation limits the number of operators active in the betting and gaming sector, it genuinely contributes to the objective of preventing the exploitation of activities in that sector for criminal or fraudulent purposes.

| 3. | Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which excludes — and, moreover, continues to exclude — from the betting and gaming sector operators in the form of companies whose shares are quoted on the regulated markets. |
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3.

Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which excludes — and, moreover, continues to exclude — from the betting and gaming sector operators in the form of companies whose shares are quoted on the regulated markets.

| 4. | Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which imposes a criminal penalty on persons such as the defendant in this case for pursuing the organised activity of collecting bets without a licence or a police authorisation as required under the national legislation, where those persons were unable to obtain licences or authorisations because that Member State, in breach of Community law, refused to grant licences or authorisations to such persons. |
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4.

Articles 43 EC and 49 EC must be interpreted as precluding national legislation, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, which imposes a criminal penalty on persons such as the defendant in this case for pursuing the organised activity of collecting bets without a licence or a police authorisation as required under the national legislation, where those persons were unable to obtain licences or authorisations because that Member State, in breach of Community law, refused to grant licences or authorisations to such persons.

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(1)  OJ C 74 of 25.3.2006.

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