A case of throwing good money after bad. Ever since the European Court of Justice’s judgement in Placanica, the European betting companies have poured good money down the drain, attempting to lobby the European Commission ( I will not name names). They have also spent a fortune attending conferences, where they have been told by European Law betting experts that the European betting market was going to be liberalised.
On 8 September 2009 the European Court of Justice ruled in the case of “Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (CA/LPFP) and Baw International Ltd v Departamento de Jogos de Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa.” (”Bwin Liga”). The ruling represented an unequivocal victory as regards the right of state monopolies to exist in the field of gambling, and, moreover, it strengthened the rights of said monopolists vis a vis online betting.
The ramifications from the European Court of Justice’s ruling in the case of “Bwin Liga” are now being felt, with Ladbrokes withdrawning its legal action against the Norwegian State concerning its recent application for a licence, after Norway said it would rely on “Bwin Liga” in its defence.
Anyone who is aware of these facts, would know that Right2Bet is a waste of both time and money. This will be confirmed further when the European Commission gets around to announcing its position (post – Bwin/Liga) vis a vis the actions that it is currently taking against a number of European States.
The game is up. The monopolists and the incumbent operators have won, and the European gambling industry now lacks any significant catalysts (hence Paddy Power’s recent decision to target Australia.)