Lotteries reject European Commission's narrow view of regulation

On Wednesday, European Commission officials warned Member States Denmark, Hungary and Finland that they may face legal action if they do not open their borders to sports books based in other EU countries.

Reuters also reports that EU Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen has written to German regional state authorities on Friday, cautioning them that the EU might launch an infringement case against the Länder if they proceed with plans to ban online gambling.

But Winfried Wortmann of the European state lottery association said he was confident that the final decision about the right of Member States to regulate gambling in their own jurisdictions lay with the European Court of Justice, not the administration. He said he expected the European Commission would reconsider its approach of looking at gambling from a pure internal market perspective and enter into a "full picture dialogue" with Member States and their lotteries which includes the numerous social implications of gambling recognised by the ECJ and beyond.