The new online gambling law from Cyprus made a lot of online gambling companies angry.
They say that the new law is against the EU legislation.They are ready to sue the Cyprus Republic and to report the country to the European Commission.
Yiannos Georgiades is from the firm Georgiades & Mylonas and his company represents the angered online gambling companies. He declared that the new law attacks the free movement of goods and services inside the EU.
AA Crown is one of the affected companies. The company has 16 shops that offer online casino and slot machine games. The shops were closed in Cyprus after the law was passed.
Georgiades declared: “The government could regulate and tax these services like other countries do, for example, the UK, Ireland, Malta and Spain”. The EU Commission said that the online gambling industry shouldn’t be prohibited. He added: “The Commission tries to remove obstacles to restrictions on gambling”
The European Court of Justice declared: “A member state cannot invoke the need to restrict its citizens’ access to gambling services if at the same time it incites and encourages them to participate in state lotteries, games of chance or betting which benefits the state’s finances”
It’s an hypocrisy by a government that owns a national lottery. Cyprus and other state members have a lot of fiscal and economic problems. A regulated online gambling industry can provide additional tax revenues.