News of preemptive strikes by Ladbrokes on two Scandinavian gaming monopolies has observers wondering what happens next.
The Copenhagen Post reported that the Danish government is continuing its challenge of the European Union by rejecting privatization of the state-run betting monopoly, Tipstjenesten.
Above that, a confidential internal memo by the government's legal advisers were casting doubts on the legality of the continuing defiance.
According to a report in the Finnish Helsingin Sanomat, the state-owned lottery and pools monopoly, Veikkaus, is likewise preparing to lose its sole rights to the Finnish gaming market.
It seems that U.K.-based Ladbrokes is striking against both Scandinavian operators in an effort to slaughter the monopolistic Scandinavian market.
Jean Jorgensen, the vice president of the Danish Tipstjenesten said there are no plans to privatize his company. "However," he said, "it is correct that the shares of all state-owned companies have been transferred to the same ministry, namely the Ministry of Finance. That means that the ownership of the 80 percent shares of Dansk Tipstjeneste, which was owned by the Ministry of Taxation, has been transferred to the Ministry of Finance. By some it was understood that the shares would become for sale, but that is not the case."
Jorgensen added, "Above that, no official E.U. Commission statement has been sent to any government in Europe regarding the monopolies. However, it is correct that E.U. Commissioner Bolkenstein has announced (intentions) to research the possibility by sending an opening address to many E.U governments, amongst them the Danish, regarding the monopoly on gaming.
"Of course the issue is being discussed within the European lotteries organization and I guess within most Lotto companies within Europe.
"It is our official policy that Dansk Tipstjeneste has no opinion whether or not a government should maintain a monopoly or should liberalize or harmonize it. It is, however, our intention, as any company, to protect the licenses that we have been given versus any infringement from any operator without a license."
Riitta Nissi, the spokeswoman of Veikkaus, which launched Internet gambling in 1996, said there are no plans for privatization in Finland either. "Until now," she said, "no official E.U. Commission statement has been sent to any government in Europe regarding the monopolies. . . . Veikkaus is looking for several scenarios, which is a normal part of business planning in order to get oneself into a state of readiness for possible future challenges."
Nissi also stressed that there is no court case between Ladbrokes vs. Veikkaus.
"The Finnish Ministry of Interior has made an request for investigation concerning Ladbrokes' advertising to Central Criminal Investigation Police," she said. "Ladbrokes has filed a complaint against the state(s) of Finland (and Sweden) for a breach of E.U. competition rules (Dec. 11, 2003). It has also applied for gaming licenses in Finland and Sweden. "
She added that the recent Gambelli decision in the E.U. courts has no bearing on the situation in Finland.
"As written by Helsingin Sanomat,Veikkaus is confident it could compete on a level playing-field with its foreign rivals, but not under the terms of its current operating license. However, as far as the gaming business is concerned, we believe that competition would not benefit neither citizens nor society. (It does not increase efficiency (and) makes supervision and the prevention of crime and social detriments much more difficult.