Going over a month strong, the coalition to help
bring awareness to German citizens about gambling monopolies in Germany, as well
as their legal rights to gamble at online casinos, is now planning to expand its
message to all of Europe. What could be interpreted as a direct violation of
European Commission regulations, the activities of gambling and lottery
monopolies in Europe are getting more attention from the public these days.
The campaign's main purpose is to raise the
public's awareness of legal developments that have been initiated, and which
could further infringe on the rights of those who enjoy online casino gambling
from within German borders. Public propaganda began to be published prior to the
legislative discussions regarding the new lottery bill in Germany, which
contains provisions to ban German online casinos.
Organized by the head's of Austrian online gambling
company, Bwin, which include CEO Manfred Bodner, who was arrested in France in
September of last year for apparently violating French gambling regulations, the
campaign includes media advertising on billboards at German soccer stadiums that
read "Kein Monopol" and "Freies Wetten", each of which address the lottery
monopoly and free rights to gamble online.
Legislative discussions regarding the new lottery
bill began taking place between sixteen German province Prime Minister's in mid
December, 2006. In one meeting, all but one Prime Minister voted in support of
illegalizing online casino gambling in Germany. This is precisely what the
European Betting Association does not what. According to Manfred Bodner, the
hope is that more and more European citizens will become aware of the violations
of gambling monopolies in Europe and will begin speaking out for themselves.