Home / Poker News September 2013 / The Poker Grapevine - EU Rules against Italy in Online Gambling Restriction Case
The Poker Grapevine - EU Rules against Italy in Online Gambling Restriction Case
Posted by: James Carter. - Tue, 2013-09-24 12:36
The European Union has long taken a firm stand against market fragmentation and protectionism in the case of online gambling and a recent ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU in the case of Biaschi et al vs Italy only came to confirm that position. The ruling was based on the freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services across borders principles held in high regard by the EU and it clearly stipulated that no sanctions could be applied to any of the parties in such cases based on provisions which are contrary to EU law.
Italy has been a thorn in the EU’s side for a while in regards to online gambling and
online poker.
In 2006 - possibly inspired by the US UIGEA - the country moved to block 684 gambling and poker-related, Malta-based companies from the Italian internet. Later on, they expanded that measure, blocking all foreign based online gambling operators.
The justification of the moves was an all-too-familiar one: the eagerness of the Italian government to protect its citizens from fraud. In reality though, they were probably aimed at protecting domestic online gambling and poker interests.
In other news: Phil Ivey’s online poker operation Ivey Poker launched a mobile version of their app, looking to reach as many poker players as possible. The app saw its beta version launched back in July and since then, it has accrued more than 10,000 active users. The foray into the mobile segment is an obvious move to expand that user-base.
What novelties does the Ivey Poker app bring to the table though? Besides the usual social online poker jazz, there’s apparently a massive training library that users can access, and they are also given the chance to learn from Ivey’s team as well as to compete against the pros.
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