PARLIAMENT : MEPS FAVOUR STRONG STATE CONTROL.

• Position: Brief article

The growth of the cross-border online gambling sector is a matter of concern for the European Parliament, which says memberstates are justified in limiting the services provided on their territory.

On 10 March 2009, MEPs adopted a resolution on the "integrity of online gambling," which underlines that their proliferation "increases the risk of illegal practisces".

The resolution was adopted in the wake of an own-initiative report by the Danish Social Democrat Christel Schaldemose. However, the result of the vote - 544 in favour, 36 against and 66 abstentions - is misleading: significant national differences surfaced in Strasbourg, which resulted in the official publication of a minority opinion' from 11 MEPs, who say the report twists the reality and reinforces certain prejudices.

This opinion reflects that of operators; private sector representatives have criticised the report and the resolution. On the other hand...