French and Belgian Views of the European Gambling Regulation

Under European law, gambling services should be considered as services in accordance with the meaning of Article 50 of the Treaty establishing the European Communities (EC). Article 46 EC provides that the provisions of the Treaty and measures taken in pursuance thereof should not prejudice the applicability of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action providing for special treatment for foreign nationals on grounds of public policy, public security or public health. A Member State can therefore only impose restrictive measures in strict compliance with the limits set out in the Treaty, in particular Article 46 EC, and the case-law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). This chapter describes the French regulatory framework for gambling before examining the French view of the European gambling regulation. Then, it describes the Belgian gaming regulatory framework. Keywords: Belgian Constitutional Court; Belgian gaming regulatory framework; European Commission; European Gambling Regulation; European Union; French gambling regulatory framework; legal principles of equality; non-discrimination principle