The European Court of Justice (CJEU) has issued its preliminary ruling in the joint cases Costa and Cifone regarding the access of European operators to Italian gambling licences under the 2006 reformed Italian gambling legislation.

Sigrid Ligné, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association, commented: "This very positive ruling confirms that national legislation that opens up and regulates the gambling market may not discriminate against new operators but must guarantee fair market access."

The CJEU confirmed that member states cannot protect vested economic interests and thereby discriminate against new operators under the aegis of consumer protection or fraud prevention. The court also noted in its ruling that the Italian gambling legislation is not consistent with the claimed objectives of protecting consumers from gambling addiction and limiting gambling activity in Italy. The court pointed out that the aim of the legislation is to protect incumbents and increase tax revenues.

This is in line with a series of recent rulings in which the court focused on the lack of consistency between the claimed objectives of member states and the actual legislation that in aims to protect incumbents' interests.

Ligné added: "The Court has made particularly clear the 'red lines' that member states must observe when they regulate gambling; it is high time for the European Commission to enforce the consistent case law of the CJEU and pursue complaints and infringements procedures accordingly."