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From Paris to Poland, the rules are in flux
The lawyers, at least, must be rubbing their hands in glee. Across Europe, the regulations governing online gambling are changing so quickly – and often inconsistently – that you'd be forgiven for wishing the single European market meant just that.
In France, for example, online gaming seems set to explode after regulator Arjel granted licences to nine more companies.
Now authorised to take euros from French residents are AD Astra, CanalWin*, FullFun, Geny Infos, Jeux 365, LB Poker, PKR France, Rekop – the French incarnation of Full Tilt Poker – and Zeturf France.
Not all will be offering casino-style games, however, with some intending to provide sports betting and pari-mutuel betting on horse races. The licensing round comes after the introduction of new online gaming regulations earlier this summer.
And France's opening-up of its market – still too restrictive, according to some – is just one episode in a flurry of regulatory activity swirling across Europe.
Spain is working on legislation to cover Internet gaming; Sweden is banning the advertising of online gambling, a move recently backed by the European Court of Justice; Italy has submitted details of its proposed regime to the European Commission.
France's Arjel itself has won a court battle to make Internet service providers block access to unlicensed gaming sites. Israel – culturally and economically if not geographically European – is taking a similar tack, and Bulgaria is also cracking down on cross-border betting. Meanwhile, Poland's strict new rules are reportedly causing concern in Brussels.
With such a diversity of countries all trying to impose their varying values on the market, and the EU also taking an interest in most of them, don't expect the European online gaming sector to settle down any time soon.
