Britain and Malta Club Together Against EU Policy

December 1 - Today Great Britain and Malta teamed up to try and prevent moves by the European Union (EU)President (France) to author a wide-reaching bloc-wide policy designed to regulate the European gambling industry which is currently worth billions of euros.

According to reports, France put forward a discussion paper to a meeting of the bloc's 27 industry ministers that said there were 'already grounds for seeking a common approach'.

The cause of concern amongst the many EU member countries is that traditionally gambling could be dealt with on a national basis. However, with the sharp increase in cross-border online betting services, this could be undermined.

EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy told the meeting he has not proposed common EU rules on gambling as no consensus existed among the bloc's states to adopt it.

The issue is highly politically sensitive as it touches on both crucial tax revenues and traditions revered in many EU countries.

In addition, online gambling firms are continually at loggerheads with many governments as they try to overcome barriers to allow them to operate freely in various countries.

According to one source, Britain and Malta (who are both known for their liberal attitude to online gambling firms) intervened to voice their opinions that gambling should definitely remain a national competence.

Interestingly, despite the fact that the European Court of Justice has ruled several times that restrictions on gambling must be non-discriminatory and proportionate, McCreevy has been forced to initiate legal proceedings against 10 EU states in order to uphold the rulings.

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