Once again, state-run gaming monopolies are finding themselves under fire from Brussels. The crux of the matter is that they cannot ‘have their cake and eat it’ by promoting their own gaming services but denying any competiton from outside. The position of the EU increasingly is that individual governments are perfectly free to decide their own position on gaming from a social or religious standpoint but if they decide to make revenue from gaming services themselves, they cannot then claim that nobody else get involved.

The Placania case is only relevant directly to the betting sector however, it definitely has a knock-on effect for other parts of the gaming industry. It can only be a matter of time before markets such as Sweden, Norway and Finland are also forced to rethink their gaming monopolies and re-allow AWP operation from private gaming companies. What is needed is a company or trade association to bring a case to the European Court to force this issue to a head. Unfortunately, there are not many within our industry with the time or money to pursue such a case. It is a lot easier fro companies the size of Stanley or Ladbrokes – another UK betting giant that is currently embroiled in legal battles with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Holland. If only these governments would realise that by opening up the gaming sector to private operators, they would increase, not decrease machine revenues. More competition would lead to greater variety for players and an increased cashbox. Technology has moved on, meaning that machines could be linked directly to the tax department, cutting out the possiblity of fraud. We will have to see what the future holds, but these rulings from the ECJ are surely knocking at the foundations of state-run gaming monopolies and it can only be a matter of time before we see them crumble.

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