I am flabbergasted (I thought I spelled that wrong, but no red line so I
guess not!). Why am I flabbergasted you ask? Oh pray, please tell us. Okay, okay
if you insist (It really does amuse me to no end having these little
conversations with myself, but I know my devoted readers can understand).
Anyways, another online gambling CEO has been arrested, and in France of all
places! I just wrote an article yesterday about France and how their Prime
Minister (sorry, forgot his name again) is wanting to liberate online gambling
in France. And then they turn around and arrest none other than Peter Nylander
from Unibet!
Sachrebleu! (I know I spelled that one wrong). Okay, I've never been
to France, so I can't say what the mentality is over there for myself. But
what's up France?! This is so ridiculous I don't even want to write about it
anymore. We all know that France has a gambling monopoly - the Francaise des
Jeux. This is the same monopoly that says online casino gambling and sports
betting is okay in France, but that only they can provide the services because
only they are suited to properly regulate it and keep crime and problem gambling
in check.
In my opinion, this is the height of hypocrisy. It's almost as bad as the
U.S. Maybe France is trying to make a point before they decide to liberalize the
market? Make one last stand and say, "Okay, okay we'll regulate online gambling
- but don't try and pull a fast one on us, because we're still going to be
vigilant about regulation". Or maybe their just crazy. Apparently, Nylander's
arrest (which took place while he boarded a plane in Holland), stems from a
proceeding filed by Francaise des Jeux and the PMU citing Unibet's breach of
laws dating back 1836 and 1891. Uh ya, that's crazy. Now, I don't know how
accurate that is (It was Unibet who made that claim), however, something tells
me its the truth.
Unibet is outraged - and rightly so - while the European online casino gaming
community at large is putting the pressure on the European Union to take action
against France. The EU has previously held infringement proceedings concerning
France's restriction on online sports betting, while France's highest court
overturned a previous ban against a company from offering online betting on
horse races back in July of this year.