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France Receives More Time to Respond to Online Gambling Critisism

September 7, 2007

Last week, the European Commission granted France with an extension on the deadline regarding the modification of their current restrictive online gambling legislation.   The new deadline is set for October 29 of this year, which gives France two more months to respond to the criticisms.  

The EC (European Commission) disapproved of Frances current laws, which prohibit any non-native online gambling companies from operating in their country.  The concern was that the legislation breached article 49 of the European Treaty, which states that all members of the European Union participate in a free market within the service sector.  

Currently the only two internet gambling companies permitted in France are Française des Jeux and PMU.  Sweden and Greece both underwent the same criticism by the EC, and the same extension has been handed to Greece.  As of yet, there has been no word of an extension, or a request for one, from Sweden.

"The deadline for Greece and for France is now 29 October," said a spokesperson for the Internal Market Commissioner. "We have not seen anything from Sweden so far but they did not ask for an extension so we assume it's on its way,".