CELEX: 62005CO0466
Language: en
Date: 2007-03-06 00:00:00
Title: Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 March 2007.#Gianluca Damonte.#Reference for a preliminary ruling: Tribunale di Lecce - Italy.#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.#Case C-466/05.

Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 6 March 2007 – Criminal proceedings against Damonte
      (Case C‑466/05)
      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
      Freedom of movement for persons – Freedom of establishment – Freedom to provide services – Restrictions (Arts 43 EC and 49 EC) (see para. 7, operative part 1-4)
      Re:
      
         Reference for a preliminary ruling – Tribunale di Lecce – Interpretation of Articles 43 EC and 49 EC – National legislation
                  making the collection of bets subject to a licensing requirement.
               
            Operative part: 
      
         
                   
               
               
                  
               
               
                  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.
                  
               
            
         
                   
               
               
                  
               
               
                  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.
                  
               
            
         
                   
               
               
                  
               
               
                  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. 
                  
               
            
         
                   
               
               
                  
               
               
                  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.