Time to act on Sweden's gambling laws, says EGBA chief
European Commission must follow through on promises to take Sweden to Court of Justice for the European Union if it wants to be taken seriously, Haijer says
Sweden must be referred to the Court of Justice for the European Union over its failure to overhaul its online gambling laws if the European Commission (EC) is to be taken seriously, the secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association has said.
Maarten Haijer made the claim after reports emerged in the Swedish press alleging that the EC postpone any legal action to allow the country more time to implicate changes.
Accusing Sweden of being in a “perpetual state of imminent change”, Haijer told eGaming Review the EC must now follow through on its promise to act.
“For many years changes have been announced and Sweden has had ample time to adapt its regulation to comply with EU law. Nothing has happened,” Haijer said.
Sweden received its first reasoned opinion from the EC in 2007, outlining the EC’s position on possible breaches of internal market rules, before a second was issued in November 2013.
Sweden were given two months to reply, however the case was delayed slightly after January meetings between officials from both the EC and the Swedish government were cancelled and rescheduled for February.
Reasoned opinions are the second and final stage in a pre-litigation procedure, with previous recipients including Hungary, the Netherlands and Greece.