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EU Starts Legal Action Against Sweden & Germany Over Gambling PracticesFri, Feb 1st, 2008 @ 12:00am The European Commission (EC) has begun legal action against Sweden and Germany on 31 January challenging their protectionist practices against foreign gambling operators, to bring them into compliance with EU directives that give EU-based operators the free movement of goods and services between the 27 EU member countries (Article 49 of the EC Treaty). SWEDEN Sweden's state-owned gambling company, Svenska Spel, offers and promotes online poker to its citizens, while competitors face near-insurmountable barriers to entry and Swedish newspapers are pressured into not taking advertising from competitors (click here for related article). Stefan Widmark, the lawyer for the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet, was quoted by Gaming Intelligence Group as saying, "We are very pleased that the Commission has taken up this matter with the Swedish government. In the letter from Aftonbladet to the Commission two weeks ago, we requested the Commission to take up the subject of poker, as the focus of previous actions has been on the field of sport betting." The European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has given Sweden two months to show how their protective measures against non-state supported poker games and tournaments are compatible with EU law. Widmark said he hoped that the EC's decision would force the Swedish government to take action, but pointed out that previous moves by the Commission have had little effect. GERMANY A new German Interstate law came into force on January 1 that bans online gaming and betting, with the exception of horse racing. Financial institutions are also banned from processing transactions related to such 'illegal' online gambling services. The EC had previously made known its opinion that such a course would conflict with the principles of free movement of goods and services between EU member countries. Germany have also been given two months to respond to the EC. WHAT NEXT? If replies from both countries are not satisfactory, they can be taken to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is empowered to force nations to amend their laws or face financial penalties. Last year, the EU court made two landmark rulings against Italian gaming restrictions. Judges in March struck down the use of criminal laws to hinder foreign companies including Stanley Leisure Plc of the U.K., and in September declared the country's licensing system illegal. Read Related Articles:
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High Stakes Poker Re-ups with the Game Show Network Just when it looked like the Game Show Network would shift to a pokerless schedule, it has been announced that High Stakes Poker will be back for another season. HSP will begin filming Season Five episodes in September.
SirWatts Electric at World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup Just as the World Series of Poker Main Event left on a 117-day break, a new World Poker Tour millionaire was being crowned at the Bellagio. Some 446 entrants ponied up the $15,000 buy-in, creating a prize pool worth $6,489,300. More than $1.6 million will go to Canadian Michael "SirWatts" Watson, winner of Bellagio Cup VI.
World Poker Tour Finds New Home on Fox Sports Net It was announced Thursday that World Poker Tour Enterprises has reached an agreement with Fox Sports Network (FSN) to broadcast Season VII of the WPT series. Tournaments are already underway for the new season, which will consist of 26 one-hour episodes.
EGBA Sets New Best Practice Standards for Responsible Gaming The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), in support of their mission to promote fair competition for European-licensed operators and consumer choice in a regulated European online gaming market. has launched a new set of best practices to ensure consistent standards of player protection, fair gaming and responsible operator behavior in the European online poker, Internet gaming and betting environment.
World Poker Association Changes Membership Terms The new leadership under Founder and present Chairman of the World Poker Association (WPA), Jesse Jones, has taken immediate measures to address the needs of the over 1400 members who have joined the WPA to date, through several key membership changes. These changes include:
Stanley Ho's IPO Reveals Setbacks Since Macau Regulation, Competition Arrive The delayed listing of Stanley Ho's Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Holdings (SJM) group on Hong Kong's Stock Exchange until today, 16 July, is characteristic of the many challenges the firm has faced since 2002, when foreign operators were allowed to build casinos, and regulations increased. Since then, the 86-year old billionaire's four decade dominance of the Portuguese colony's gaming market, determining where and when you could play poker has waned.
'November Nine' Final Table of the World Series of Poker Is Set From 6,844 to nine, the players for the final table of the Main Event of the 39th World Series of Poker have now emerged after nearly two weeks at the tables. The so-called 'November Nine' will return on November 9 after a 117 day hiatus as the most well prepared final table in poker history, as well as being guinea pigs for this first-ever delayed final table experiment.
Poker Tournaments in Bars -- The New Prohibition? While the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) has devastated internet poker, separate, quiet battles are being fought, and won, to make poker legal in bars under state laws.
'November Nine' Emerge Today at World Series of Poker, Hellmuth Places 45th Today, July 14, is a big day at the World Series of Poker, when the three remaining tables of the Main Event will be trimmed to one, from the 27 players starting play today Day 7. That means that today we will learn the identities of the 'November Nine', the nine finalists who will return November 9 to play out the final table under the television spotlights.
Biggest $250,000 Guaranteed Poker Tournament in Bodog History Coming History will be made this summer at Bodog Poker, as the online poker powerhouse hosts its largest guaranteed prize pool tournament ever on Sunday, Aug. 10, at 4 p.m. EST, with a guaranteed $250,000 in total prize money to be awarded-- regardless of the number of registrants. |
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