Online Gambling in Some European CountriesOnline Gambling in Some European Countries

The European Commission has been trying to form a common online gambling area across the continent, there are countries which are choosing their own directions.

Thus, Denmark was the latest country which bowed down to the pressure the European Commission exerted to it in order to open the online gambling market. But, Denmark wants to protect and promote the state gambling monopoly in the regulated gambling market as France and Finland do. In the country gambling is managed via Danske Spil, the state owned company.

As of July 1, 2010, private online casino operators can go into the online gambling market and make it more competitive. But they must have a license to offer gambling services. The Danish government has stated that private foreign operators can get these licenses only after the beginning of 2011. Thus, Danske Spil gets 6 months of exclusive and untrammeled access to customers. During this time they can win players’ loyalty and respect.

The government has warned gambling operators trying to attract Danish players before they will receive licenses. According to “Ace”, the Danish magazine, government spokesmen said that they would take ISP blocking action to prevent Danish customers from playing at unlicensed sites. The government are also said to make it highly difficult for Danish gamblers to withdraw money from unlicensed casino sites after the beginning of July.

Ireland is ready to tax online gambling. According to The Sunday Independent, Prime Minister Brian Cowen is going to introduce legislation to tax gambling online. The Irish government wants to collect the taxes at the rate of 1% from online and phone sports betting. Most authorities say that this tax will help the country’s economy, but there are rumors that the main aim of this tax is to finance the racing industry. They say that this tax money will go to the rich horse owners in the end.

Ireland suffering from an economic crisis and the job losses can get new jobs thanks to online gambling operators. Paddy Power the leading online gambling operator in Ireland had planned to give 350 new jobs in the country but it will have to refuse this idea if the taxes become a reality.