Pushing Your Limits
October 10, 2009
There is a Maltese online gambling firm that is pushing their limits when it calms to advertising gambling. Be online gambling group Zeturf recently ran a full-page advertisement in France’s free daily newspaper, the Metro. They ran it as a press release, not as a gambling advertisement, but many say that that makes no difference.
The problem is that it is illegal to advertise online gambling and many see this as “advertising in disguise” and it should not be legal. By listing it as a press release instead of an advertisement, the online gambling group was able to run the ad. However the French government is very upset with the move. There is currently a prohibition on advertising for any online gambling firm that is not licensed within the country.
The advertisements in the Metro described a horse race, the 88th Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, which took place this past Sunday. However, according to the Budget Minister for France, Eric Woerth, is clearly in violation of France’s online gambling advertising laws. He said that France has been very clear in what they will allow and what they won’t, and with this move the online gambling site is letting the government know that they want a piece of the action within the country.
However, with many online gambling companies hoping to get into friends ahead of their proposed online gambling legalization, it would behoove them to follow the rules now or else they might find themselves permanently barred from the country.
