EU wants barriers on sports bets lifted

The European Commission on Wednesday demanded that Denmark, Finland and Hungary change national rules that limit sports betting in their countries, saying it could take them to court if they do not respond within two months.

The Commission said it had received complaints that the three nations effectively block companies based in other EU countries from doing business there, citing restrictions such as the requirement for a state concession or license and limits to promoting or advertising betting and determining who can gamble.

The complaints came from a number of gambling companies and information gathered by EU officials, it said.

The restrictions are incompatible with EU law, the Commission said, adding that the measures taken by the three countries "have not been shown to be necessary, proportionate and nondiscriminatory."

It said the countries could not claim they were trying to protect consumers from gambling if, at the same time, they incite and encourage people to use state lotteries and other gambling operators that pay the proceeds to the government.

It challenged the position of existing national operators _ such as state gambling monopolies _ saying they should not benefit from being categorized as nonprofit operations since they have strict annual revenue targets and often rely on commercial retail outlets to market their gambling services.