Petter Nylander Case Ordered to be Dropped
Paris is about to admit that they have been discriminating against online operators to protect their state monopolies which is illegal. The French government has been embarrassed by Nylander's arrest and has ordered the case against the CEO to be dropped. "It is not a matter between the state and Unibet," said a spokeswoman for the budget ministry in Paris. "Francaise des Jeux and PMU will be told to drop their complaint."
Many were behind Mr. Nylander including the European Commission, Swedish politicians and of course Unibet. They all said that Unibet operated under legal EU law. Christofer Fjellner, a Swedish member of the European parliament, said: "A worrying fact is that the European arrest warrant, an instrument put in place to combat terrorism and organized crime, is now used by the French government to punish those who fight French protectionism. What will be the next sector to be threatened with French arrests? The French are turning the European arrest warrant "into a political tool."
Unibet has stated that their lawyers are working to have Mr. Nylander released. The internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy has been taking legal action against France since the summer when the organizers of the Tour de France cycle race which is sponsored by FdJ, did not allow the Unibet team to take part in the French legs. The French budget minster is set to talk with McCreevy on November 6th about opening the French online gambling market.
"We are ready to find a new framework for gambling if conditions are respected. Those wanting a license would have to satisfy criteria on preventing addiction and money laundering." Jean-Pierre Jouyet, the French Europe minister, told reporters in Strasbourg.