EN    EN EN 
 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 24.3.2011 
SEC(2011) 321 final 
  
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING PAPER 
Accompanying document to the 
  
GREEN PAPER 
  
On on-line gambling in the Internal Market 
  
{COM(2011) 128 final} 
 
EN 2   EN  
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
1. Regulating on-line gambling in the EU: R ecent developments and current challenges 
from the Internal Market standpoint ............................................................................ 3 
1.1. The Stakeholders and their interests ............................................................................ 3 1.2. Key findings in the Commission's 2006 study............................................................. 6 1.3. On-line gambling in the EU: current situation............................................................. 8 1.4. What are the most popular on-line gambling services in the EU27?......................... 10 
1.5 Gambling and the Consumer Market Monitoring Survey ......................................... 11 2. Secondary legislation, notif ications and case law...................................................... 13 
2.1. EU secondary legislation re levant to on-line gambling ............................................ 13 
2.2. Case law relating to Internal Market ru les and gambling services- an overview ...... 15 
2.3. Application of state aid rules...................................................................................... 17 2.4. Research and Technological Development................................................................ 17 2.5. Financing of benevolent and public interest activities............................................... 17 
2.6. Notifications............................................................................................................. .. 18 
 
EN 3   EN The purpose of the Green paper on  on-line gambling is to collect the facts, assess the stakes 
and to gather the views of all interested stakeholders on a phenomenon that has multiple dimensions. The Green paper seeks to launch an extensive public consultation on all relevant 
public policy challenges and possi ble Internal Market issues resulting from the rapid 
development of both licit and "unlawful" on-line gambling offers directed at citizens located 
in the EU.  
This staff working paper provides background material of an explanatory nature. This 
document is only available in English and is no t a part of the Commission's consultation on 
on-line gambling in the Internal Market. 
* * * 
1. R
EGULATING ON -LINE GAMBLING IN THE EU:  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND 
CURRENT CHALLENGES FROM THE INTERNAL MARKET STANDPOINT  
1.1. The Stakeholders and their interests 
(a) Citizens . Many EU citizens purchase on-line ga mbling services for entertainment 
purposes1, while a smaller group of players make  a living as professional gamblers (e.g. 
professional poker players) and there are also associations/syndicates operating in the EU 
market. Many of these users, either because of  a lack of national supply of such services 
or because they seek to maximise their return on stakes, search across competing on-line gambling services across borders.  
According to a study from 2006, the profile of  an average on-line gambler seems to differ 
from that of a traditional casi no or betting shop customer and te nds to reflect the profile of 
the average internet user – young and educat ed. On-line gambling also attracts more 
women than traditional bricks and mortar forms of gambling, as  the internet sites are easy 
to customise and the offer of gambling services may be designed to appeal to the female population
2.  
Citizens who gamble may be interested,  inter alia,  in the following issues: 
• Protection from fraud (where on-line gamb ling is permitted) in that the supply of 
services should come from licensed operato rs and be well regulated and supervised 
by relevant authorities. This also includes protection from  misleading and aggressive 
marketing practices. 
                                                 
1 Gambling being an entertainment serv ice is also reflected in its sta tistical classificat ion - CPA section 
R: Arts, entertainment and recreation services (t wo specific codes for online gambling: 92.00.14 On-
line gambling services and 92.00.21 On-line betting services). On-line gambli ng is an area where a 
large number of citizens have tried to benefit from an extensive offer from operators established in 
another Member State. For example, one commer cial operator (Betfair) processes 5.5 million 
transactions a day, which according to the compan y corresponds to twice the amount of all EU stock 
exchanges together. 
2 Department for Culture, Media and Sports (UK), "A Literature Review and Survey of Statistical Sources 
on Remote Gambling"  Final Report, RSeconsulting, October 2006 
 
EN 4   EN • Choice / economic interest in terms of attractive selectio n of gambling services and 
good payback ratio. 
• Fairness which includes that games are re gulated and supervised. Fairness also 
includes transparency conditions ; that potential users rece ive information on the rules 
of the game, the chance of winning and basi c information about the operator before 
he/she takes up the offer. 
Citizens may have an interest in prohibitions  or restrictions to  the provision and/or 
promotion of on-line gambling services for vari ous reasons, including moral, religious or 
related to public health. It must be noted that there are citizens who have problems with 
their gambling habits and need help and supp ort to address this. (These problems are 
highlighted in section 2.4 of the Green paper).  
These citizens may be interested,  inter alia,  in the following issues: 
• Restrictions on commercial communications (e.g. prohibition of billboard advertising 
close to religious premises or schools)  and exposure of on-line gambling in the 
editorial content of the media. 
• Access to treatment for gambling addiction. 
• Assistance for problem gamblers and/or their families to get their financial problems. 
 (b) Operators , providers of online gambling services , include private and public companies 
and foundations set up for the purpose to provide gambling services. They may have a business model that is based on exclusively providing online gambling or a mix of online 
and offline gambling. Operators also include gambling service providers that have their 
main source of revenues from other activitie s such as media operators or producers or 
retailers that organise  promotional games. 
Their key interests may include,  inter alia, : 
• Commercial objectives in that they wish to benefit from the scale and of the Internal 
Market (market access) and have the legal security to exploit these commercial 
opportunities. 
• Fairness and crime prevention (in particular  to prevent fraud by players and match 
fixing). 
(c) Media  operators may have a d ouble interest in online ga mbling. They both (i) offer 
gambling services directly to consumers by us ing their audiovisual platform interactively 
(e.g. IPTV) or in combination with for exampl e premium rate phone lin es (calls or sms) 
and (ii) promote gambling services offered by other gambling operato rs (advertising and 
sponsorship).  
 Moreover, they have an interest in a clear regulatory framework as they may be 
retransmitting lottery draws (or poker tourname nts) into non-national territories and be 
held responsible for displaying visual images of events that expose commercial communications/promotions of gambling servic es or (advertising on players jerseys or 
billboards at an arena) for which they do not receive any reimbursement. There is also an 
 
EN 5   EN increasing number of specialised magazines that are dedicated to online gambling (in 
particular poker).  
To summarise, their key interests may, inter alia , include: 
• Commercial objectives - to benefit from the Internal Market (media sales / 
advertising). 
• legal security – including definitions of ga mbling services or rules on when a license 
is required for a game show. 
• the same as an operator (see operator above) if they offer on-line gambling services. 
(d) Intermediaries , include internet service providers, data (storage) cent res, providers of 
telecom/broadband infrastructure, hard- a nd software producers, payment service 
providers. 
 They also include insurance companies (to th e extent that bookmakers or other operators 
insure risks), advertising agencies, media sa les companies, event organisers, sport wear 
producers (e.g. sales of re plica football jerseys).3 
Key interests: 
• Commercial – innovative bus inesses providing on-line ga mbling services are often 
driving developments in other areas by o ffering new revenue streams for these on-line 
and off-line service providers.  
• Legal security (for example, clear rules on commercial communications to enter into 
sponsorship agreements with on-line gambling operators) 
(e) Sport event organisers; Organisers of  horse races and other sports events and interest 
groups linked to such events.  
Key interests include: 
• Economic – to ensure that some of the proceeds from on-line betting are used to 
finance the events or the activitie s on which the bets are placed.  
• Integrity – to prevent th at sport events are subject to manipulation.  
f) Good causes and other beneficiaries ; Organisations or entities th at receive a share of the 
proceeds from on-line gambling without being involved in the organisation of the activity. These include registered charitie s, grass root sport organisati ons, cultural or ganisations or 
institutes as well as Member States (fiscal revenues or license fees). 
                                                
 
3  One of the seven goals listed in the Commission's digital agenda3 is a new Single Market to deliver the 
benefits of the digital era.  
 
EN 6   EN Key interests: 
• Economic (It must be noted that a sport or cultural body that enters  into a sponsorship 
agreement and therefore receives funds shoul d be considered to be an Intermediary, 
mentioned under (d) above)   
(g) Regulators and authorities include gambling regulators, police authorities, national 
Courts, consumer agencies and self regulator y associations in the area of advertising, 
(h) Other stakeholders , Any other stakeholder not listed  above including:  organisations, 
institutes (private or public) or individuals wo rking with treatment a nd/or research relating 
to problem gambling and addiction, persons  practising a legal profession (individual 
judges, public prosecutors or lawyers), academics, employees working for online 
operators, offline operators w hose business may be affected  by the supply of online and 
investors.  
1.2. Key findings in the Commission's 2006 study4 
The purpose of the Study, carried out in 2005 and early 2006, was to evaluate how the various 
laws regulating on-line and off-line gambling services5 impact upon the smooth functioning 
of the Internal Market for these and their associat ed services and thus co uld restrict growth in 
employment and general economic activity associat ed with such services. The report listed all 
national laws, draft laws, self-regulatory nor ms and jurisprudence pertaining to the 
commercial communication, establishment and provi sion of gambling services. It described 
stakeholders and markets, the expected cross-border development of each market sector and other market trends linked to  technological change and inte rnational developments. Finally, 
the study identified, in view of these regulatory and market reviews, th e existence and nature 
of barriers to the free movement of gamb ling services in the Internal Market.  
The Study presented a picture of a very fragmented Internal Market where Member States 
frequently imposed restricti ons on cross-border gambling se rvices. The interpretation of 
national rules was not always cl ear and the study listed almost 600 cases that were brought to 
national Courts
6. 
The Country reports for remote gambling in  the Study pointed out some of the policy 
positions towards remote gambling that had emerged among the Member States7. These are 
summarised below  
 
                                                 
4  Study on gambling services in the EU Internal Mark et. The contract was awarded to the Swiss Institute 
of Comparative Law. See http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/services/gambling_en.htm   
5  (1) lotteries, (2) betting (including horse and dog racing, event betting and pool competitions); (3) 
gambling offered in casinos; (4) gambling on gambling machines that are placed in locations other than 
licensed casinos; (5) bingo; (6) media gambling (i.e. games in the editorial content of the media); (7) 
sales promotion services consisting of promotiona l games with a prize exceed ing €100,000 or where 
participation is exclusively linked to purchase; (8)gambling services operated by and for the benefit of 
recognised charities and non-profit making organisations. 
6  587 cases, most of these cases were dealt with by German Courts.  
7  Chapter 7, "The impacts of internet gambling and other forms of remote gambling on the EU gambling 
market", page 1414. This overview did not include 3 of the EU25 Member States (CZ, EE and PL).  
 
EN 7   EN Restrict 
gambling 
activity Internet 
gambling 
prohibited Protect 
Monopoly & 
revenues Foreign 
operators 
not allowed Domestic 
internet 
gambling 
allowed Accepts 
cross border 
internet 
gambling Liberal 
approach 
with licenses 
offered 
AT, BE,ES, LX EL,HU LT, LX AT, BE, DK,  BE , DK, ES,  AT, BE, DE, ,  CY, IR, LV,  FI8, LV, MT,  
  EL, FI, FR, IT, FR, HU, IT, ES, FR, IR, IT MT, UK UK 
  NL, PT, SE NL PT, SE, SI, SK   
Figure 1 . Member States' policy positions towards remote gambling in 2005 
                                                 
8  The Åland Islands. 
 
EN 8   EN 1.3. On-line gambling in the EU: current situation 
As mentioned in the Green paper, in 2008, the annual revenues generated by the gambling 
service sector, measured on the basis of Gross Gaming Revenues (GGR) (i.e. stakes less 
prizes but including bonuses) , were estimated to be around 75,9 bn € (EU 279), showing the 
economic significance of the sector. On-line ga mbling services accounted for annual revenues 
in excess of € 6,16 bn, i.e. 7,5 % of the overall gambling market. This on-line market is the 
fastest growing segment and is expected to double in size in five years10. 
National levels of demand for these on-line services vary across the Union depending on a 
number of factors. In that respec t it is not surprising to see that  the UK is the largest market at 
the current time given that its e-commerce market  is twice as large as  the average for the 
Member States11.  
 
Figure 2 The 10 largest national on-line gambling markets in the EU in 2008 (GGR)12. 
It is also worth noti ng that, in 2008, the GGR for on-line ga mbling (national market) were €5 
million or below in six Member States : Luxe mbourg (5), Lithuania (2), Estonia, Latvia, 
Malta and Slovenia (1). 
 
                                                 
9 H2 Gambling Capital for the European Commission (2008 figures).  
10 EGBA and H2 Gambling Capital, 2009, http://www.egba.eu/pdf/EGBA_FS_MarketReality.pdf   
11 See Report on retail Market monitoring, 5 July 2010 (COM(2010) 355 final) 
12 H2 Gambling Capital 
 
EN 9   EN 
    
Figure 3. Member States wheregross gambli ng revenues exceed 1% of the national GDP. 
 
Figure 4.  Proportion of  national gambling consumption attributable to  on-line gambling 
 
EN 10   EN 1.4. What are the most popular on-lin e gambling services in the EU27? 
The Green paper presents a pie-chart desc ribing on-line player ac tivities by product:  
 
Figure 5. Breakdown of the Gross Gambling Revenues by type of on-line gambling service (EU27)  
More detailed information by Member State is presented below13: 
Online (Player Activity) GGR by Product Vertical (€m (%)) 
Member State Sportsbetting 
(inc. Horses) Casino 
Games Poker Bingo 
(including 
Side Games) State Lottery 
Austria 92 (55%) 22 (13%) 8 (5%) 3 (1%) 42 (25%) 
Belgium 8 (17%) 22 (48%) 8 (17%) 8 (18%) 0 (0%) 
Bulgaria 4 (40%) 4 (41%) 2 (19%) <1 (1%) 0 (0%) 
Cyprus 2 (31%) 3 (46%) 1 (18%) <1 (6%) 0 (0%) 
Czech Rep 9 (43%) 5 (26%) 6 (30%) <1  (1%) 0 (0%) 
Denmark 38 (15%) 34 (14%) 56 (22%) 3 (1%) 119 (48%) 
Estonia 1 (47%) <1  (5%) 1 (46%) <1  (3%) 0  (0%) 
Finland 38 (13%) 35 (12%) 18 (6%) 58 (20%) 145 (49%) 
France 316 (53%) 94 (16%) 71 (12%) 28 (5%) 93 (15%) 
Germany 178 (25%) 242 (34%) 124 (18%) 23 (3%) 137 (19%) 
Greece 46 (37%) 61 (48%) 17 (14%) 1 (1%) 0 (0%) 
Hungary 4 (24%) 6 (34%) 5 (29%) <1 (2%) 2 (11%) 
Ireland 53 (36%) 46 (31%) 24 (16%) 25 (17%) 0 (0%) 
Italy 346 (51%) 184 (27%) 99 (15%) 14 (2%) 35 (5%) 
Latvia <1 (43%) <1 (7%) <1 (45%) <1 (6%) 0 (0%) 
Lithuania <1 (25%) <1 (5%) 1 (66%) <1 (4%) 0 (0%) 
Luxembourg <1 (8%) 4 (86%) <1 (5%) <1 (1%) <1 (0%) 
Malta <1 (7%) 1 (76%) <1 (16%) <1 (1%) 0 (0%) 
Netherlands 21 (15%) 41 (28%) 55 (38%) 6 (4%) 22 (15%) 
Poland 4 (16%) 8 (29%) 11 (44%) 3 (11%) 0 (0%) 
Portugal 9 (22%) 21 (52%) 9 (21%) 2 (6%) 0 (0%) 
Romania 4 (32%) 4 (36%) 3 (29%) <1 (3%) 0 (0%) 
Slovakia 1 (11%) <1 (2%) 1 (19%) <1 (3%) 4 (66%) 
Slovenia <1 (36%) <1 (6%) <1 (55%) <1 (3%) 0 (0%) 
Spain 61 (16%) 66 (18%) 93 (25%) 153 (41%) 0 (0%) 
Sweden 173 (30%) 84 (15%) 151 (26%) 100 (17%) 68 (12%) 
                                                 
13  H2 Gambling capital (figures for 2008) 
 
EN 11   EN UK 527 (28%) 428 (22%) 363 (19%) 310 (16%) 275 (14%) 
Total EU 27 1.942 1.423 1.135 741 944 
 
1.5 Gambling and the Consumer Market Monitoring Survey14 
The Green paper refers to the annual Consum er Market Monitoring Survey, in which the 
market for gambling services (online and offline) is one of the 50 markets. The market is rated 
in the middle area (29th out of 50 included ma rkets) as regards market performance. The 
figures below are extracted from the annual Co nsumer Market Monitoring Survey (see also 
section 1.2 of the Green paper) . The overall MPI (Market Perf ormance Indicator) score per 
market is the combination of seven individual dimensions which have been incorporated in 
this survey.  
 
 
Figure 6. Gambling services and the market performance (high score means better market performance) 
The consumer ranking for "comparability" as re gards gambling services is relatively high, 
Comparability is a key component in market pe rformance indication as it captures how easy 
or difficult it is for a consumer to compare products or services in  a given market and 
implicitly covers price and qua lity comparison. Comparability is rather well evaluated by 
consumers with an overall score of 7,1 on a 10  point scale. The markets showing the best 
performance on this dimension are generally fa st moving product categories (such as drinks, 
personal care products...) and home equipment mark ets (small or large household appliances). 
 
                                                 
14  Specific scores for market in sp ecific countries (dashboard s), the overall report (where gambling is dealt 
with on page 243), tables, etc. can be found at this link:  
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/strategy/cons_satisfaction_en.htm    
 
EN 12   EN 
 
Figure 7. Gambling services and comparability  
 
The rating for "trust" is average  and the rating for problems "experienced" is much lower 
than the average. The overall rating for whether the product lived up to what the consumer wanted is rather low but this is perhaps not  unexpected given the nature of the product. 
 
Figure 8. Extract from the annual Consumer Market M onitoring Survey (see section 1.2 of the Green paper) 
 
EN 13   EN 2. SECONDARY LEGISLATION , NOTIFICATIONS AND CASE LAW  
2.1. EU secondary legislation relevant to on-line gambling  
As regards secondary European law, gambling services are not regulated by sector-specific 
regulation at EU level but neve rtheless are subject to a number  of EU acts. In other cases 
gambling services have been explicitly exclude d from the scope of EU law. In addition to 
benefiting from horizontal rules such as those pe rtaining to IPR protection, the following texts 
are noteworthy in this respect.15: the Audiovisual Media Services Directive16, the Unfair 
Commercial Practices Directive17, the Distance Selling Directive18, the Anti-Money 
Laundering Directive19, the Data Protection Directive20, the Directive on privacy and 
electronic communication21, the e-commerce Directive22 and the Directive on the common 
system of value added tax23. 
The Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AVMSD)24 aims at coordinating certain 
provisions laid down by law, regulation or admini strative action in Memb er States concerning 
the provision of audiovisual media services. Gambling offers, where any audiovisual content 
is merely incidental to the se rvice and not its principal purpos e, are not considered AVMS.  
The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (UCPD)25 aims at protecting consumers from 
unfair practices which are likely to induce a transactional decision which they would 
otherwise not have taken. Comm on rules and principles provi de consumers with protection 
against unfair practices whether they are buying from their corn er shop or purchasing from a 
website based abroad. Businesses can advertise a nd market to all consumers in the EU, in the 
same way as to their domestic customers.  Although the UCPD is without prejudice to 
authorisation regimes such as the rules rela ted to gambling activities, advertising and 
marketing practices fall within its scope. As a co nsequence, gambling advertising falls foul of 
the Directive if it is contrary to the requirements of professional diligence and if it is distorting the economic behaviour of the average customer or a clearly identifiable group with 
an underlying vulnerability, e.g. minors, where the gambling provider can reasonably expect such a distortion. The UCPD bans in partic ular misleading and a ggressive commercial 
practices. 
The Distance Selling Directive
26 applies to most contracts where a consumer and a supplier 
running an organised distance-selling scheme do not meet face-to-face at any stage until after 
the contract has been concluded. "Distance communication" includes traditional means of 
distance communication but also covers more technologically advanced means of distance 
                                                 
15  For a more complete listing of EU secondary legislation, see "Staff working document, section II" 
16 OJ L 95, 15.04.2010, p. 1. 
17 OJ L 149, 11.6.2005 , p. 22. 
18 OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19. 
19 OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15. 
20 OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. 
21 OJ L 201, 31.07.2002, p. 37. 
22 OJ L 178, 17.07.2000, p. 1. 
23 OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1. 
24 OJ L 95, 15.04.2010, p. 1. 
25 OJ L 149, 11.6.2005 , p. 22. 
26 OJ L 144, 4.6.1997, p. 19. 
 
EN 14   EN communication such as teleshopping, mobile phone commerce (m-commerce), and the use of 
the internet (e-commerce). The Directive provi des a number of rights for consumers in order 
to ensure consumer protection throughout the EU, including provision of comprehensive 
information before the purchase, right of w ithdrawal, protection from unsolicited selling and 
protection from fraudulent use of payment cards. Article 6(3) however excludes the right of 
withdrawal for contracts for gaming and lotte ry services, unless the parties have agreed 
otherwise27. 
The Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD)28 requires certain institutions and 
businesses to apply a series of preventive meas ures with a view to prevent money laundering 
and terrorist financing. For the gambling sector the AMLD explicitly co vers casinos. Member 
States can however extend the rule s to other categories of undertak ings with a particular risk 
to be used for money laundering and terroris t financing purposes. Those subject to the 
Directive are obliged to: 
– verify the identity of their customer and to monitor their business relationship with 
the customer (casino customers must be iden tified and their identity verified if they 
purchase or exchange gambling chips w ith a value of EUR 2000 or more); 
– report suspicions of money laundering or terro rist financing to the public authorities; 
and 
– take supporting measures, such as ensuring a proper training of personnel and the 
establishment of appropriate internal preventive policies and procedures.  
Competent authorities should ensure  that the persons who effectiv ely direct or will direct the 
business of such entities and the owners of  such entities are fit and proper persons. 
It furthermore imposes enhanced due diligence procedures in certain situations which carry 
higher risks of money launderi ng, e.g. where the customer has not presented himself 
physically. 
The Data Protection Directive29 and the Directive on privacy and electronic 
communication30 provide for the legal data protection legal framework in the EU. The Data 
Protection Directive sets out the general framew ork for the protection of individuals with 
regard to the processing  of personal data and the free movement of such data while the 
Directive on privacy and electronic communica tion contains specific rules on processing of 
personal data and the protection of privacy in  the electronic communications sectors, and 
regulates areas such as confidentiality, billing and traffic data, rules on spam/unsolicited commercial communications, cookies,  etc. For ga mbling services these rules not only cover 
static data such as contact or financial info rmation but also behavioural data, like gambling 
frequency and pattern or the stake. 
                                                
 
27 With the proposal for a Directive on Consumer Rights (COM (2008) 614 final) this directive is 
currently under review. 
28 OJ L 309, 25.11.2005, p. 15. 
29 OJ L 281, 23.11.1995, p. 31. 
30 OJ L 201, 31.07.2002, p. 37 as amended by Directive 2009/136/EC, (OJ L 337, 18.12.2009, p .11. 
 
EN 15   EN The e-commerce Directive31 excludes in Article 1(5)(d) ga mbling activities which involve 
wagering a stake with monetary value in game s of chance, including lotteries and betting 
transactions from the sc ope of the directive. 
Article 135(i) of the Directive on the common system of value added tax32 exempts betting, 
lotteries and other forms of gambling, subject to the conditions and limitations laid down by 
each Member State, from the common system of  value added tax. This however means that, 
in practice, a margin of discreti on is available to Member States  and in practice, not all forms 
of winnings from gambling are exempt in all Member States. In some cases, the tax exemption extends only to a limited number of  forms of gambling (typically lotteries and 
some forms of betting) and in practice it ma y not specifically cover all forms of on-line 
gambling.
 
 
2.2. Case law relating to Internal Market rules and gambling services- an overview 
2.2.1. References for preliminary rulings: 
Judgment of 24/3 1994,  Schindler , C-275/92, ECR [1994] I-01039,      E N  FR DE 
Judgment of 21/9 1999 , Läärä and others , C-124/97, ECR  [1999] I-06067    EN  FR DE 
Judgment of 21/10 1999,  Zenatti,  C-67/98, ECR  [1999] I-07289    EN FR DE 
Judgment of 11/9 2003 , Anomar and others , C-6/01, ECR  [2003] I-8621     E N  FR DE 
Judgment of 6/11 2003 , Gambelli  and others , C-243/01, ECR  [2003] I-13031     EN FR DE 
Judgment of 13/11 2003 ,Lindman , C-42/02  ECR  [2003] I-13519 ,     EN FR DE 
Judgment of 6/3 2007,  Placanica  & others, C-338/04, C-359/04 & C-360/04, ECR  [2007]  I-1891       EN FR DE 
Judgment of 8/9 2009 , Liga portuguesa  (Santa Casa),  case C-42/07, ECR  [2009] I-7633  EN FR DE 
Judgment of 3/6 2010, Sporting exchange  (Betfair) Cases C-203/08, ECR [0000] I-0000  EN FR DE 
Judgment of 3/6 2010 , Ladbrokes , Case C-258/08, ECR [0000 ] I-0000      EN FR DE 
Judgment of 8/7 2010,  Sjöberg and Gerdin , C-447 & 448/08, ECR [ 0000 ] I-0000   EN FR DE 
Judgment of 8/9 2010,  Winner Wetten , C-409/06, ECR [ 0000 ] I-0000     EN FR DE 
Judgment of 8/9 2010,  Markus Stoss  C-316/07 etc, ECR [ 0000 ] I-0000    EN FR DE 
Judgment of 8/9 2010,  Carmen media , C-46/08,  ECR [ 0000 ] I-0000      EN FR DE 
Judgment of 9/9 2010, Engelmann , C-64/08,  ECR [ 0000 ] I-0000      EN  FR DE 
                                                 
31 OJ L 178, 17.07.2000, p. 1. 
32 OJ L 347, 11.12.2006, p. 1. 
 
EN 16   EN 2.2.2 Pending cases (Article 267 TFEU) 
– Case  C-212/08 , Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil d'État (France) lodged on 21 May 2008 - 
Société Zeturf  Limited v Premier ministre, Ministre de l'Agriculture et de la Pêche, Ministre de l'Intérieur, 
de l'Outre-mer et des Collectivités territoriales, Minist re de l'Économie, de l'Industrie et de l'Emploi - 
intervening party: G.I.E. Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU)33 
– Case  C-347/09 ,Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Bezirksgericht Linz (Austria) lodged on 31 
August 2009 - Criminal proceedings against Jochen Dickinger , Franz Ömer34  
– Cases C-72/10 and C-77/010 , Reference for a preliminary ruling fr om the Corte Suprema di Cassazione 
(Italy) lodged on 9 February 2010 - Criminal proceedings against Marcello Costa (C-72/10)  and Ugo  Cifone 
v Giudice delle indagini prelim inari del Tribunale di Trani  (C-77/10)35 
– Joined cases C-164/10 to C-176/10 , Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale Amministrativo 
Regionale del Lazio (Italy) lodged on 2 April 2010 - Emanuele Ferazzoli and others  v Ministero 
dell'Interno36 
– Case C-255/10 , Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Roma (Italy), made on 23 March 
2010 - Criminal proceedings against Alessandro Sacchi37 
– Case  C-279/10, Reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale del Riesame di Verbania (Italy) lodged 
on 4 June 2010 - Criminal proceedings against Matteo Minesi38 
– Case C-501/10 , Reference for a preliminary ru ling from the Tribunale di Santa Maria Capua Vetere (Italy) 
lodged on 19 October 2010 - Public Prosecutor's Office v Raffaele Russo39 
 
2.2.3. The Commission's cases vs Member States  relating to gambling (Article 258 
TFEU) 
The following cases do not focus on the free m ovement of services (Article 56 TFEU (ex 
Article 49 TEU)) but con cern gambling services: 
Judgment of 13/9 2007,  Commission vs Italy, Case C-260/04, ECR  [2007 ] I-7083  EN  FR DE 
Judgment of 26/10 2006,  Commission vs Greece, Case C-65/05, ECR  [2006 ] I-10341     EN  FR DE 
Judgment of 6/10 2009,  Commission vs Spain, Case C-153/08, ECR  [2009]  I-9735   EN  FR DE 
 
2.2.4. EFTA Court rulings  
Judgment of 14 March 2007, EFTA Surveillance Authorit y v The Kingdom of Norway , Case E-1/06, EFTA 
Court Report 2007, p.11 
                                                 
33  OJ C 197 of 02.02.2008, p.12  
34  OJ C 282 of 21.11.2009, p.26  
35  OJ C 100 of 17.04.2010, p.27  
36  OJ C 161 from 19.06.2010, p.29 -34 
37  OJ C 209 from 31.07.2010, p.27  
38  OJ C 209 from 31.07.2010, p.31  
39  OJ C 346 from 18.12.2010, p.34  
 
EN 17   EN Judgment of 30 May 2007, - Ladbrokes Ltd. v The Government of Norway , Ministry of Culture and Church 
Affairs and Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Case E-3/06,  EFTA Court Report 2007, p.89 
 
2.3. Application of state aid rules 
The European Commission has opened, under EU  state aid rules (A rticles 107 and 108 
TFEU), two formal  investigations; 
– Against Denmark, to examine whether lower taxes for online casinos in comparison to 
traditional casinos in Denmark could procure an anticompetitive advantage for such online casinos
40. Denmark is liberalising its gambling markets by granting licences for online 
gambling providers. Under the notification pr ovided to the Commission in July 2010, 
online providers of casino games and gaming mach ines would be subject to a flat tax of 20 
% on the GGR compared with up to 75 % for land-based casinos and gaming halls. The Commission has doubts at this stage whether the different ial treatment entails an 
unjustified competitive advantage for online cas inos as compared to their land-based 
"competitors". 
– Against France to examine whether a parafis cal tax (levy) to finance the horse racing 
companies is inline with competition rules
41 because of the doubts of the Commission 
regarding the qualifica tion of the mission conferred on hor seracing companies as a service 
of general economic interest. 
2.4. Research and Technological Development  
Section 2.3.1. of the Green paper raise a number of issues linked to consumer protection, 
including addiction. The Commission has under its seventh framework programme (FP7) for 
Research and Technological Development published a call for proposals in the area of "Socio-
economic Sciences and Humanities – Addictions  and lifestyles in contemporary European 
societies" that may cover gambling addiction42. Selected project(s) will be announced on the 
relevant Commission webpage43.   
2.5. Financing of benevolent and public interest activities 
The financing of benevolent and public interest activities as well as events on which on-line 
sports betting relies are addressed in section 2.3.3. of the Green paper. Two issues which are 
mentioned in that section are worthy of development: 
– At its session on 10 December 2011, the C ouncil "Competitiveness (Internal Market, 
Industry)" adopted Council Conclusions on gambling and betting recognising that 
                                                 
40  Case C35/2010, DA - Duties for online gaming in the Danish Gaming Duties Act. OJ C 22, 22.01.2011. 
and IP/19/1711. See also Staff working document Section 2.3. 
41  Case C34/2010, FR http://ec.europa.eu/ competition/state_ aid/cases/238410/238410_1168986_34_4.pdf   
42  OJ C177 of 30 July 2009, see also  
http://cordis.europa.eu/fp7/dc/index.cfm?fuseacti on=UserSite.CooperationDetailsCallPage&call_id=252   
43  http://cordis.europa.eu/home_en.html   
 
EN 18   EN contribution s, in particular from state lotteries or lotteries licensed by the competent state 
authorities play an important role for society, via for ex ample the funding of good causes, 
directly or indirectly where applicable. The Council agreed that this specific role should be recognised in discussions at European level.
44 
– On 18 January 2011, the European Comm ission adopted a Communication entitled 
"Developing the European Dimension in Sport". This is the first policy document issued by 
the Commission in the field of sport after the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, which 
gives the EU a mandate to s upport, coordinate and supplemen t sport policy measures taken 
by Member States. This Communication refers  to how gambling activities directly or 
indirectly contribute to  the financing of sport.45 
2.6. Notifications 
More than 150 draft Acts and regulations rela ting to gambling have been notified to the 
Commission since January 200546. This figure includes notifica tions from 23 Member States 
(i.e. all but Bulgaria, Luxem bourg, Lithuania and Portugal) and all three EFTA States. 
 
Figure 9. Notifications. Member States that have no tified draft legislation relating to gambling services 
between 2005 and October 2010 (on left hand side). On the right hand side, the map shows Member 
States that notified on-line gambling legislati on under directive 98/48/EC (Information society 
services 2005-2009). 
                                                 
44  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/intm/118398.pdf   
45  COM(2011) 12 final, see in particular section 3.2. and "Sustainable financing of sport". 
46  137 notifications relating to gambling were notified to the Commission under Directive 98/34/EC 
(amended by 98/48/EC) between Jan 2006 and Oct 2010. See also: 
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/tris/index_en.htm  
 
EN 19   EN 
 
Figure 10. Number of notifications by year.  
 
 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010   
Total number of notifications 11 19 24 30 2347 44 
- technical regulations (98/34/EC) 9 14 19 26 15 / 
- Info. Society services (98/48/EC) 2 5 5 4 7 / 
Detailed Opinions (Commission) 1 1 3 3 3 / 
Detailed Opinions (Member States) 1 1 2 2 2 / 
Comments (Commission) 4 6 6 5 2 / 
Comments (Member States) 1 3 1 1 4 / 
Table 1. Overview – Notifications relating to ga mbling, in particular online gambling  
 
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