EU Court again pronounces clear ruling on lottery regulation

Ruling in the Italian ‘Stanleybet’ case: Exclusive concessionaire model for the management of a lottery is compatible with EU Treaty, multiple operators would increase risk for gambling addiction.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) delivered its judgment in the C-375/17 Stanley International Betting and Stanleybet Malta case.

The Court ruled that an exclusive concessionaire model for the management of a lottery game is in line with the EU law, under which there is no harmonisation in the field of games of chance.

Arjan van ‘t Veer, Secretary General of the European Lotteries and Toto Association (EL), comments:

“The CJEU has clearly recognised that an exclusive concessionaire model, as chosen by the Italian legislator, is legitimate in order to promote responsible management of the lottery . The judgment points to the particularities of our sector where restrictions can be put in place in the general interest and which must be kept free from companies that have been referred to a criminal court. EL welcomes the confirmation in this ruling.”

The CJEU further confirmed that a high basic contract value for such a concession is acceptable and stated that severe conditions to access the market can be imposed. Notably, a company can be excluded if it has been referred to criminal court for a related matter. The ruling further confirms that other games similar to lotto without the specific authorisation can be prohibited as a means to fight illegal gambling, which is a legitimate policy objective.

Contacts
Jutta Buyse, EL Deputy Secretary General
Tel: + 32 2 234 38 20, mobile +32 476 896 376, [email protected]

About The European Lotteries Association:

The European Lotteries Association (EL) is the European umbrella organisation of national lotteries operating games of chance for the public benefit. EL has members from more than 40 European countries including all EU Member States. The association’s EU members contribute more than 20 billion EUR p.a. to the state budgets and the funding of sport, culture, social projects, research and other causes of general interest. Unlike many commercial online gambling operators, EL members only offer gambling and betting services in the jurisdictions in which they are licensed by the respective national government.