By Philippe Vlaemminck
Attorney-at-law
external legal adviser of ESLTA

1. INTRODUCTION

The last decade European State Lotteries have faced different challenges. It started with the discussion about the "Internal Market on Gambling". Different cases at the European Court of Justice between 1994 and 1999 were necessary to clarify the legal questions. In the meantime the Internal Market policy came to maturity. The Commission has changed its attitude towards Lotteries completely and understood that finding the equilibrium between the competence of the Member states and the European Institutions produces the basis for the quality of live and the citizen's right in the Union.

2. THE EUROPEAN LOTTERY MODELS.

Today we have now that what we can easily call a " European model for lotteries ", whereby:
- Member States have the main regulatory role,
- Cross-border activities are nothing more than a marginal issue,
- Competition rules do have a very limited role whereas monopoly / restrictive market structures
are consolidated.

What are the lottery models that one could defend following the Schindler, Läärä and Zenatti cases? The European State Lottery and Toto Association have their views on this issue.

3. NEW EUROPEAN CHALLENGES IN THE 21ST CENTURY.

But the discussions are therefore not yet over. New challenges are occurring: Commercial Communication, the development of a new European sport policy, The EC policy on new media including internet and digital television, and the EU strategy on prevention and control of organized crime especially in relation to cybercrime.

The European State Lottery and Toto Association is studying through its European Legal affairs working group and its new media working group the responses to these challenges.

Communications Commercial. The commission is continuing the process of consultations regarding all aspects of commercial communication. It is foreseen that in the second half of 2000 and / or early 2001 the Commission will start the discussion about commercial lotteries and commercial communication for lotteries. There is a serious risk that certain private parties ( like the European Brand Association who was behind the attack against the Czech law ) will try to create a loophole in the restrictive lottery legislation through commercial communication legislation. So-called free lotteries ( also on internet ) to support the sale of goods are a danger to the very existence of lotteries. Do we have a response in the European Jurisprudence ( Familiapress, Keck & Mithourd cases ) The European Parliament has in the meantime also set up a Working Group on all these issues.

Sport. During the Portuguese Presidency the Ministers of Sport adopted in Lisboa a declaration recognizing the specific social function of sport. The European Council of Feira endorsed this declaration and requested all the European Institutions to manage European policies in such a way that the specific function of sport and solidarity and limit the excessive commercialization. The Commission continues the process of dialog with the sport sector and orders in order to convey a common European policy which would not be affected by other policies. The lottery sector is thereby considered to be an important partner ( as an important source of financing sport in the EU ). But there are questions: To what extend is sponsoring allowed? To what extend can sport marketing companies intervene with sport betting activities?
Also the European Parliament is drafting a report on the European sport policy.

E-commerce/Cybercrime/Digital Telivision. On 17 July 2000 the so-called E-commerce Directive has been published in the Official Journal of the EC following a long political debate. Gambling is excluded from the scope of the Directive. What does that mean? Under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council the Action plan on cybercrime was presented. This plan foresees a multi-annual approach in two phases. In 1997 the problems created by illegal gambling has been recognized by the European Commission in an official document ( Com(99) 157,14.04.97, p.7 at point 22 ). It is therefore now important that illegal internet gambling would come within the regulatory scope of the EU. Is there logic in doing so and is this consistent with the subsidiarity principle and why? Initiatives in that regard are now being considered by the Belgium Ministry of Justice who intends during the Belgian Presidency to have common legal measures adopted by the Member States.
But there is more. The Commission is now starting the process of discussing the audio-visual policy in the digital age ( Com(99) 657,14.12.99 ). Interactive home gaming services are probably a bigger threat than the internet.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Philippe Vlaemminck is a Belgian attorny-at-law with a large expertise in both European law and Lottery legislation.

He worked from 1984 until 1994 part-time at the European Institute of the Ghent University teaching about different issues of European law ( Internal market, trade, etc... ) and practiced law at the same time. In 1999 he was visiting Professor of the Ghent University teaching the course of European Judicial Protection.

In the field of lotteries, he is since more than ten years the external legal adviser of the Belgian National Lottery and has presented the Belgian Government at the European Court of Justice in the Schindler, Läärä and Zenatti cases.
He is since 4 years the external legal adviser of the European State Lottery an Toto Association monitoring all European Union legal issues, preparing with the European legal Affairs working group all position papers and is the Editor of the Ellegal- The European affairs newsletter of the Association.
He also advised several other lotteries in Europe as there are the Dutch Lotto, Latvijas Loto, the Loteria Nacionale of Roumania, the Israel Sport Betting Board.