Sports Betting Guide and Terms - European Courts Ruling Is Good News For 

Sportsbooks and online casinos have taken a hit with the US passing the law banning online gambling. Most of the offshore gambling companies have now started focusing on Europe and that is the reason why a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice would have cheered them up.

The European Court of Justice ruled that Italy could not ban gambling companies from other European Union countries for letting Italian citizens gamble on their sites. This ruling is not just relevant for Italy. It has much bigger implications for the European Union as a whole. This means, now sportbooks can operate across the European Union, borders not withstanding.

The ruling the European Court of Justice was given in connection to case. Three Italian men, Massimiliano Placanica, Christian Palazzese and Angelo Sorrichio were being prosecuted for action as intermediaries in Italy for a licensed British betting company, Stanley International Betting. The company is based in Liverpool, UK, and is a licensed bookie.

This ruling also affected the stock market across Europe which saw the share prices of sportsbook increase. Ladbroke’s shares rose by 2.7% while William Hill share prices increased by 1.1%.

Though lawyers said that the ruling is just limited to sportsbooks and it did not mean that licensed betting companies in one European Union country could now operate in another country.

Online casinos would be keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the European Union takes a similar decision for casino gambling.

The approach taken by the European Union is completely opposite to that taken by the United States. One wonders whether it would have any repercussions.