AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT DENIES IT HAS A GAMBLING MONOPOLY

(667) (10-October-2006)

And the finance minister uses online gaming availability as a counter-argument

In a Europe where online gambling companies are frequently in conflict with governments protecting lucrative state gambling monopolies, it made a change this week to see the industry portrayed as an alternative service proving that no monopoly existed!

It happened in Austria when the European Commission investigating restrictive cross border trade practices (those state monopolies) suggested that Austria was among those states which could be in conflict with EU practice.

Reuters reported this week that Austria's finance minister downplayed suggestions by the European Commission that a betting monopoly operated in the country, as Vienna faces a possible court case for refusing to open its gambling market.

"'Many European and worldwide providers offer gambling and betting in Austria via the Internet, so the question presents itself - what makes a monopoly in this sector, a sector where there is worldwide competition on the Internet," finance minister Karl-Heinz Grasser told reporters.

The Commission's internal market chief said many states were likely to face court action over gambling monopolies that make it difficult for others to compete. "It will be Austria, Italy and France on Thursday if everything goes according to plan," Charlie McCreevy told reporters.