Crime, Addiction and the Regulation of Gambling

by Spapens, Toine; Littler, Alan; Fijnaut, Cyrille

• ISBN13: 9789004172180
• ISBN10: 9004172181
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-15
• Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff

Summary

This volume is the result of a Colloquium on the Regulation of Gambling and the Role of Crime and Addiction, hosted by Tilburg University. The regulation of gambling is subject to ongoing debate within the European Union. Current discussion mainly revolves around the principal question of whether gambling services should be viewed as a normal economic activity or, instead, as a market with distinctive features which justify restrictive policies by national governments. Until now, governments of most countries hold the latter point of view.

Author Biography

Toine Spapens is a senior researcher at the Faculty of Law at Tilburg University. He is participating in the research programme 'The Regulation of Gambling from a European Perspective', focussing on the topic of gambling and crime. Alan Littler is a researcher at the Tilburg Law and Economics Center (Tilburg University), working on a PhD considering the regulation of gambling in the context of the European Union's internal market. Cyrille Fijnaut is Professor of international and comparative criminal law at the Law School of Tilburg University. He is also leading the research programme 'The Regulation of Gambling from a European Perspective'.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
List of Abbreviations	p. xiii
General Introduction	p. 1
Introduction	p. 1
Crime and Addiction: their Role in the Debate between the European Commission and the Netherlands	p. 3
The Questions Raised by European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy	p. 3
The Defence of Justice Minister Piet Hein Donner	p. 4
Commissioner McCreevy's Unbelieving Response	p. 5
The Defence of Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin	p. 6
Placanica, or Unexpected Help from the European Court of Justice	p. 8
The Questions Referred by the Dutch Council of State for a Preliminary Ruling	p. 10
Crime and Addiction in the Proposed New Betting and Gaming Act	p. 12
The Contributions to this Book	p. 14
Developments on Various Fronts in the European Union	p. 14
The Developments in a Number of Member States: the Netherlands, France, Germany and the United Kingdom	p. 15
Crime Problems Related to Gambling: an Overview	p. 19
Introduction	p. 19
Illegal Forms of Gambling on Offer	p. 21
Petty Gambling on the Street or in Bars and Eating Establishments	p. 22
Illegal Sports Betting and Totes	p. 24
Illegal Lotteries and Lottos	p. 27
Illegal Casinos	p. 28
Illegal Electronic Gambling Machines	p. 31
Online Gambling	p. 32
Loan Sharking	p. 34
Penetration of Criminals into the Legal Betting and Gaming Sector	p. 35
The Mafia in Las Vegas	p. 35
The Electronic Gambling Machine Sector in the Netherlands	p. 38
The Problem of Unknown Beneficial Owners	p. 39
Improper Use of Gambling for Illegal Activities	p. 40
Match Fixing	p. 41
Predatory Crime	p. 43
Using Gambling for Money laundering Purposes	p. 44
Crime in Relation to Gamblers	p. 47
Crime Committed by Gambling Addicts	p. 47
Casino-related Crime	p. 52
Concluding Remarks	p. 54
The Proper Functioning of the Internal Market: Observations from Brussels	p. 55
Introduction	p. 55
Definition of Gambling in Community Law	p. 55
Secondary Legislation	p. 55
The European Commission's 2006 Study on Gambling Services in the Internal Market	p. 56
Why is the Commission Taking Action?	p. 57
Approach 1 - Harmonisation and Something about the Relevant Secondary Legislation	p. 57
The Need for Clear Definitions	p. 61
The Need for a Clear Scope	p. 62
Transposition of Directives	p. 63
Approach 2 - Infringement Proceedings and National Restrictions	p. 63
Justification and Evidence - Which Problem - What Evidence?	p. 64
Final Observations	p. 67
Placanica: Combating Criminality vs. Reducing Gambling Opportunities as Grounds for Justification in the ECJ's Jurisprudence	p. 69
Introduction	p. 69
Existing EU Case Law	p. 71
From Schindler to Zenatti	p. 71
Gambelli and Lindman	p. 73
Suitability	p. 73
Proportionality	p. 74
An Analysis of the Placanica Judgment	p. 75
The Facts	p. 75
Disagreement Within the Italian Case Law	p. 76
The Court's Reply	p. 77
Licences	p. 78
Tender Procedure: Listed Companies	p. 78
Police Authorisation and Criminal Penalties	p. 79
Relationship Between Placanica and Existing Case Law: Is There Anything New Under the Sun?	p. 79
Problematic Justification: Reducing Gambling Opportunities	p. 79
Possible Justification: Combating Crime	p. 80
Proportionality: Licences from Other Member States	p. 83
EU Case Law and the Implications for National Legislation	p. 84
The Objectives of National Legislation and the Goal of the European Court of Justice	p. 84
Belgium	p. 86
The Netherlands	p. 88
France	p. 90
Conclusion	p. 91
Regulating Illegal Gambling Markets: The Case of Illegal Casinos in the Netherlands	p. 93
Introduction	p. 93
The Theory With Regard to Regulation	p. 94
Gambling Policy in the Netherlands	p. 96
Illegal Casinos in the Netherlands	p. 99
Legal Casinos in the Netherlands	p. 102
Repression and Regulation	p. 105
Concluding Remarks	p. 107
Gambling and Addiction Problems in the Netherlands	p. 109
Introduction	p. 109
Gambling Addiction: Diagnosis, Taxonomy, and Risk Factors	p. 110
Caught Up in More than a Game	p. 114
Methodology	p. 114
Results of the Study	p. 116
Prevention of Gambling Addiction	p. 120
Measures Directed Towards the Game	p. 121
Measures Directed Towards the Players	p. 122
Measures Directed Towards the Environment	p. 124
General Conclusion	p. 126
The Role of Crime and Addiction in the Gambling Policy of France	p. 127
Introduction	p. 127
The Organisation and Regulation of Games in France by the State	p. 128
The Traditional Approach of French Gambling Policy	p. 128
The Government's Creation: Three Distinct Sectors	p. 129
The National Games Commission	p. 131
The Ministries Exercise Sole Jurisdiction	p. 131
Towards a New Policy	p. 133
Fraud, Misdemeanours and Other Misappropriations	p. 134
In Relation to 'Old' Games	p. 134
In Relation to Horseracing	p. 134
In Relation to Lotteries	p. 134
In Relation to Games Machines	p. 135
In Relation to Slot Machines	p. 135
In Relation to Casinos	p. 136
In Relation to Poker	p. 137
Anti-Money Laundering Measures	p. 137
Internet - New Games - Many Conflicts and the 'Psychodrama' between France and the European Commission	p. 137
Gambling Addiction	p. 139
Conclusion	p. 139
The German Market for Gambling and Betting	p. 141
Introduction	p. 141
Problems with a Legally Oriented Segmentation of the Market	p. 142
Sales Figures in the Various Segments of the Gambling Market	p. 145
Payout Ratio	p. 150
The Market for Sport Betting	p. 152
State Revenue and State Revenue Spending	p. 154
The Number of and Spending of Players for the Various Game of Chance Formats	p. 158
Pathological Gambling in Germany and the Regulation of the Gambling Market	p. 161
Conclusions	p. 164
The Culture of Gambling in Great Britain: Legislative and Social Change	p. 165
Introduction	p. 165
The Legacy of the 1968 Gaming Act	p. 165
International Trends	p. 167
The National Lottery	p. 167
Late 20th Century Trends	p. 168
Easing Restrictions	p. 169
Industry Niche Marketing	p. 169
New Forms of Gambling	p. 169
Demographic Changes	p. 169
Increased Expenditure	p. 169
Problem Gambling in Britain	p. 170
The Profile of Problem Gamblers	p. 171
New Types of Games	p. 171
Adolescent Gambling	p. 172
Crime	p. 173
The 2005 Gambling Act	p. 174
The Purpose of the Act	p. 174
The Reception of the Act	p. 175
The Final Act	p. 177
Vulnerable Groups, Social Responsibility and Consumer Protection	p. 177
Online Gambling	p. 178
Concluding Comments	p. 178
Preventing Problem Gambling on the Internet Through the Use of Social Responsibility Mechanisms	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
The Expansion and Popularity of Internet Gambling	p. 185
The Causes of Problem Gambling	p. 191
The Containment of Underage Gambling	p. 197
Approaches to Ensuring Fair Gambling	p. 201
Responsible Gambling: Developing a Comprehensive Approach	p. 201
Regulation and Protecting Consumers	p. 203
The Social Responsibility of Operators	p. 205
Responsible Gambling: What Does it Entail?	p. 207
Why was the Legislation in the UK Changed?	p. 208
The Challenge of Internet Ethics	p. 209
Conclusion	p. 212
Concluding Remarks	p. 217
Appendix	p. 221
About the Authors	p. 241
Index	p. 245
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.