Europa The importation of lottery advertisements and tickets into a Member State with a view to the participation by residents of that State in a lottery conducted in another Member State relates to a ‘service’ within the meaning of Article 60 of the Treaty and accordingly falls within the scope of Article 59 of the Treaty. Lottery activities, as services normally provided for remuneration constituted by the price of the ticket, do not, even as regards the cross-border sending and distribution of material objects necessary for their organization or operation, fall within the scope of the rules on the free movement of goods. Nor do they fall within the scope of the rules on the free movement of persons, or of those on free movement of capital, which concern capital movements as such and not all monetary transfers necessary to economic activities. Moreover, their classification as services is not affected by the fact that they are subject to particularly strict regulation and close control by the public authorities in the various Member States of the Community, since they cannot be regarded as activities whose harmful nature causes them to be prohibited in all the Member States and whose position under Community law may be likened to that of activities involving illegal products. Finally, neither the chance character of the winnings, as consideration for the payment received by the operator, nor the fact that, although lotteries are operated with a view to profit, participation in them may be recreational, nor even the fact that profits arising from a lottery may generally only be allocated in the public interest, prevents lottery activities from having an economic nature. National legislation which prohibits, subject to specified exceptions, the holding of lotteries in a Member State and which thus wholly precludes lottery operators from other Member States from promoting their lotteries and selling their tickets, whether directly or through independent agents, in the Member State which enacted that legislation, restricts, even though it is applicable without distinction, the freedom to provide services. However, since the legislation in question involves no discrimination on grounds of nationality, that restriction may be justified if it is for the protection of consumers and the maintenance of order in society.
The particular features of lotteries justify national authorities having a sufficient degree of latitude to determine what is required to protect the players and, more generally, in the light of the specific social and cultural features of each Member State, to maintain order in society, as regards the manner in which lotteries are operated, the size of the stakes, and the allocation of the profits they yield, and to decide either to restrict or to prohibit them.
Citations:
Times 30-Mar-1994, C-275/92, [1994] EUECJ C-275/92
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Cited by:
Cited – Regina v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ex parte DB Admn 17-Oct-1996
Sperm which had been taken from a dying and unconscious man may not be used for the later insemination of his surviving wife. The Act required his written consent.
Held: Community Law does not assist the Applicant. The question had been . .
Cited – Omega Spielhallen- und Automatenaufstellungs-GmbH v Oberburgermeisterin der Bundesstadt Bonn ECJ 14-Oct-2004
The claimant company operated a gaming system in which players chased around inside a darkened building shooting at targets either on the builkding or on the garments of other players. The local licensing authority ruled that such a game simulated . .
Cited – Office of Fair Trading v Abbey National Plc and seven Others ComC 24-Apr-2008
The Office sought a declaration that the respondent and other banks were subject to the provisions of the Regulations in their imposition of bank charges to customer accounts, and in particular as to the imposition of penalties or charges for the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
European, Commercial
Updated: 03 June 2022; Ref: scu.160950