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While Europe is try to make sure the United States reopens its market to European online casinos with threats of carrying them before the World Trade Organization, the issue does not seem resolve in Europe itself. 

Recently the European Union Parliament held a non-binding vote on the whether regulations for online casinos should be left to the discretion of individual member states or whether universal regulations should apply to the entire union.  More votes sided with the idea that individual member states should be able to follow their own regulations with regards to online casinos. 

The vote essentially suggests that European Union principle of free movement of goods and services between member states does not apply to online casinos and the Internet gambling industry.

Malcolm Harbour, a British Member of the European Parliament prepared an alternative report, but it ended in defeat.  The island nation of Malta had a very negative reaction to the defeat of Harbour’s report.  The reaction was largely sparked due to the negligent actions of the 5 Maltese Members of the European Parliament. 

The Maltese government supported the notion of Harbour’s report that online casinos are no different from any other form of economic activity in the European Union and that the industry should be protected by the free movement of goods and services policy by which the union currently abides.  

“Malta prefers the present internal market rules to regulate the gaming industry over national regulation as some member states have, in the past, tried to stifle competition through their laws,” stated a quote from the Times of Malta.

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