EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy has taken issue with alleged misinformation provided by the Dutch government regarding the scope of its domestic gambling industry, giving the Brussels another platform off of which to launch infringement proceedings.
In March, McCreevy sent a letter informing the Dutch Ministry of Justice that several "essential elements" indicated that the Dutch Government still has an expansion policy on gaming--sports betting, especially.
"For that reason, legal foreign operators from other EU countries should be allowed to operate in the whole European Union,” McCreevy wrote.
In the letter, McCreevy accuses the Dutch government of misinforming him, with regard to the "decrease" of the Dutch National Lottery's (De Lotto) publicity budget. According to De Lotto, advertising expenditures during 2004 and 2005 totaled 14.1 and 12.6 million euro, respectively. However, according to information contained in annual reports, more than 50 percent was spent on publicity.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, McCreevy's correspondence with the Dutch government was leaked last Tuesday.
Further data provided by Nielsen Media indicate that the number of De Lotto adverts increased 42 per cent between 2002 and 2004, and that the total duration of radio and television spots grew in the same order.
The recently installed publicity code is, according to McCreevy, just another instance of eyewash on behalf of the Dutch government.
In the letter, McCreevy expressed that he was suspicious about research that indicated lower numbers of gambling addicts and reduced criminal activity in the country.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Dutch cabinet has confirmed that the government has responded to McCreevy's letter but said it would not publicize its response.
The spokesman referred to the usual arguments, which the Netherlands uses as justification for their gambling monopoly, such as the prevention of gambling addiction and combating crime.
After discovering that the correspondence had been leaked, Dutch justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin later sent the letter and cabinet response to the House of Commons.
Click here to view an English translation of McCreevy's letter to former Dutch foreign affairs minister Bernard Rudolf Bot.