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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that member states have the right to maintain a gambling monopoly. The 8 September judgement against an appeal lodged by bwin, an Austrian on-line gambling site based in Gibraltar, upheld a Portuguese court decision to ban bwin from operating in Portugal, and concluded that the prohibition of on-line gambling "is compatible with the freedom to provide services," enshrined in article 49 of the Treaty to Establish the European Community. In justifying its judgement the ECJ noted that the Portuguese national lottery organisation, Santa Casa da Misericordia de Lisboa, is a non-profit organisation subject to strict governmental controls, and legislation to ban potential competitors like bwin can be justified "by the objective of combating fraud and crime." Quoted by Le Figaro, the Chairman of the Association of European Lotteries, Friedrich Stickler, welcomed the decision and announced "A great day for national lotteries." The report in the French daily further points out that the decision will likely have implications "outside of Portugal," and could "set a precedent" for future cases.
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