An Online Casino Victory in Italy

This interesting case, which took place in Italy and was ruled on last week seems to signal us that it is.

Businesses are free to offer their services across Europe according to the current laws. The attempt by the Italian government, like by other countries, to use the criminal code selectively against online casino businesses did not stand the test of the law. The specific case involved a United Kingdom-base company, Stanleybet International, which was banned from Italy. The Italian agent operating in Italy, Placanica, is also the name that the trial and ruling are called after. Perhaps we will be able to say Palacanica when wishing to point to the moment the industry has changed.

As countries seek to protect their state-run monopolies, Palacanica will be used against them. The precedent will likely give an advantage to the large companies in their attempts to spread their services across the continent, to France, Germany and other countries currently defensive of their own. In the Italian case, the national legislation was not compatible with the European Community principles. The European Court of Justice said their should be other means taken to protect the gambling world from criminal elements and underage gambling, among other negative aspects. A blanket ban of businesses is unfair and against principles of freedom. The immediate implication is that Italy cannot apply the criminal code in gambling cases.