Freedom of choice in the EU

[MarcSten]

Hi guys, sorry to post a URL straight off the bat but I think this might be something you're interested in and could provoke some good discussion.

<removed>

It's an online petition and campaign to alter the EU's unfair gambling regulations. Both punters and British bookies are currently penalised in the way that their freedom of choice is restricted within the EU. This means we lose the chance to get better odds, have difficulty betting abroad sometimes, etc. However, more broadly (and perhaps more importantly), it's an example of EU hypocrisy of the highest order that badly needs rectifying if the EU is retain any semblence of credibility with voters...

Why should the internal market be rigidly and dogmatically enforced in some sectors but not in others? The idea of a free market is that it delivers the best services at the best prices to the largest amount of people. Sure, this can involve some very uncomfortable dislocation for people who find themselves unproductive or inefficient; they can be run out of business and will have to find themselves alternative jobs. But this is something that millions of people in Europe and across the world have had to endure as the price of progress and prosperity for all.

So my question is - why is the free market being ignored in this instance? Because it's a sensitive issue? Because gambling lines the coffers of governments and they don't want to give that revenue up? We know that CAP isn't being reformed because of the French (and now Polish) farming lobbies, but gambling? It smells fishy to me...

Also, does anybody know how other trading blocs deal with this? NAFTA?

MS

[finlay666]

I have had NO issues using European bookmakers (including MyBet)

Most UK bookies have online sites in Malta which I don't believe are regulated by this

[MarcSten]

Yes somewhere like Malta might have quite fair laws that don't discriminate against companies based upon their nationality, which is what the EU's free market is supposed to guarantee anyway. But the problem is that not all countries allow that - which is blatantly unfair and hypocritical. The right2bet site has info on who the worst offenders are.

I just think it's out of order that some sectors of the European economy are open to the rigours of the free market whilst others aren't. Why are Member States allowed to pick and choose which industries they open up to competition in this way? It's not fair, and the EU Commission should be taking action on it. I understand the argument for shielding public services from competition as its arguably a social justice issue, but gambling? C'mon.. it stinks!

[peterb]

I see the site is sponsored by betfair, so not entirely impartial or perhaps as altruistic at it might appear.

[finlay666]

I see the site is sponsored by betfair, so not entirely impartial or perhaps as altruistic at it might appear.

I didn't look at it

Most bookies use Malta probably due to tax reasons. Most UK bookmakers websites are based in Malta for the same reason

[MarcSten]

Doesn't surprise me that betfair would want to sponsor and advertise on a site about online gambling! The disconnect between the EU's supposed commitment to freedom of choice in goods and services and its reluctance to be consistent in this area is bad news for bookies as well as punters.

Not being able to bet across the EU means that you're likely to get worse odds than if otherwise, but for me the biggest hypocrisy is how can they justify this? Why should some sectors have to bear the brunt of free and fair competition, which (as I said above) involves painful dislocation for many people, whilst other sectors can shelter behind government protection. It just seems bizarre to me.

[MarcSten]

PS if there are any superficial males looking for a more fun way to sign this exact same petition (read: fit girl, skimpy bikini, marker pen) then see <removed> - It's the same deal, to increase freedom of choice in online gambling, but you get a personalised photo sent to your inbox after you've scrawled all over her body... haha


Marc

[Salazaar]

What is the issue here? Can anyone sum up the problem in a few sentences? Franky, I can't be bothered to wade through pages of rhetoric for something I, currently, care so little about.

[Perfectionist]

I bet this guy works for them.

Same tactic as the spambots, make 5 innocent-sounding posts then cut to the marketing BS.

Astroturfing Ayn Rand wannabes. Free market capitalism got us where we are today, in national debt thanks to a load of greedy bastards (not just the bankers who while deserving are not the only ones who were taking stupid risks with debt)

Sure, gambling is fun for those that have the self-control and intelligence to do it reasonably, but the majority don't seem to if the stories from places like Las Vegas are anything to go by, and I think it would possibly be even worse here - look like how the masses dealt responsibly and maturely with 24/7 drinking, ha... talk to anyone in police/ambulance services who have to clean up the mess.

[finlay666]

I enjoy gambling...

Mainly because I don't and make guaranteed profit out of doing it, it's probably why it's more entertaining knowing that I am guaranteed profit and don't have to actually care about the result

[Perfectionist]

Yeah, I think most people here are gonna be the kind of people who aren't totally stupid with their money which is prob why they are marketing to us to votes hoping we will just think selfishly of ourselves and not the effect it'd have on the rest of society

[peterb]

There doesn't seem to be much interest in this issue - closed pending further moderator discussion.