France Drops Arrest Case
The French government has ordered the case against Unibet CEO dismissed, Petter Nylander who was detained as he was entering a flight out of Amsterdam with an arrest warrant that had been issued by a French judge. The charges were money laundering and cybercrime, the initial complaint was made by Francaise des Jeux and PMU.
The French government who dismissed the charges comes just as officials in Paris conceded they have discriminated against online operators to meek the monopoly they have safe.
A spokesperson for the Budget Ministry stated that Francasie des Jeux and PMU are to be told to drop their complaint.
In a statement from Christopher Fjellner a Swedish member of the European Parliament said this arrest warrant was put in place to combat terrorism and organized crime however France has used it to protect their online gambling monopoly and punish anyone or operator who is trying to change the monopoly.
The Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy who has gone against France when the organizers of Tour de France cycle race sponsored by FdJ would not allow the Unibet team from taking part in the French legs. He has come out and denounced the arrest of Petter Nylander.
The French Budget Minister and Charlie McCreevy will be discussing online gambling on November 6th.
The French European Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet has told reporters in Strasbourg France is ready to open the online gambling market to operators that meet certain conditions. These conditions are preventing addiction and money laundering, those who can prove this will be able to be licensed.