French Embarrassed By Arrest of Internet Gambling Executive

Unibet, an internet gaming company, has criticized the French government for falsely arresting chief executive Petter Nylander on Monday, claiming that the arrest unwarranted because the company is legal under EU law.

The fact that he was apparently illegally arrested is a minor situation compared to the fact that Paris seems ready to admit that is not the first time they have illegally discriminated against online operators.

The motives behind these discriminations come from the government trying to protect its state monopolies.

This is not being taken lightly by online gaming operators or members of surrounding governments. A member of the Swedish Parliament, Christopher Fjellner, had this to say about these unwarranted arrests, "A worrying fact is that the European arrest warrant, an instrument put in place to combat terrorism and organized crime, is now being used by the government for people who fight French protectionism."

The French government has ordered that PMU and Francaise des Jeux drop their complaints against Unibet.

The French Europe Minister, Jean-Pierre Jouyet even went a step further saying that they are ready to open the online gambling market in France, and as long as groups seeking licenses satisfy the proper criteria the licenses would be issued.

The criteria is said to be that there is a plan in place that will prevent both money laundering and addiction.

October 23, 2007
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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