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Italy and Spain to liberalize internet betting

Posted by: SharpGambler on Tue, 12 December 2006 12:08:59 (1170 Reads)
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Following UK approach to online gambling, Italy and Spain passed legislation to liberalize internet betting. Some European Governments start to create a legal environment for online gambling instead of banning it.

Online gambling has been under fire on the last months with US passing legislation that creates some difficulties to the industry without giving it the proper legal environment.

In EU the situation is not better with some countries simply trying to get around the free market rule and trying to get excuses to protect their gambling monopolies. But the situation is now changing. In fact the UK Government took main steps in order to legalize gambling and to attribute gambling licenses to foreign operators starting next year. Italy and Spain are the next to follow the same steps.

In Italy, the Government is auctioning off 17,000 licenses for sports and horse racing betting at shops and other outlets. Companies have been invited to bid for the number of outlets for which they want licenses. Sports wagering will also be permitted online. Remote casino gaming and brick-and-mortar casinos are also being regulated by Italy. More than 30 companies have already received licenses to offer remote gaming.

The Spanish federal government has enacted legislation allowing sports betting in shops, retail outlets and online, and regional governments were given the ability to impose conditions as they see fit. Madrid's regional government published regulations outlining its licensing conditions last month. Unlike Italy, Madrid has established a fixed license fee and a limited number of licenses. But license holders can open as many shops and outlets as they please.

Italy had, until recently, resisted the notion of allowing foreign companies to offer Internet betting and gaming products to its citizens. The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance had gone so far as to order the country's Internet Service Providers to block access to the websites of foreign betting operators in February. But when foreign betting operators complained Italy's policies violated European Union free trade laws, the country became one of nine Member States against whom the European Commission launched infringement proceedings.

With UK, Italy, and Spain taking the first steps to legalize internet betting, let's see who will follow next, since the actual situation is a clear violation of EU free market rules.

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