Do Not Pass Go - ZeTurf Beats French Monopoly

2007-07-18

After several years in the French court system, Malta-based ZeTurf has come out on top according to the French high court - le Cour de Cassation – in its actions against the French racing horse monopoly Parimutuel Urbain (PMU). In its ruling the court stated that PMU cannot prevent ZeTurf from operating in France, effectively ending the state-sanctioned monopoly.

The final decision ends a soap opera saga for ZeTurf. It started when their French owner fled France for Malta. PMU launched legal action against ZeTurf, seeking to prohibit its ability to operate on French land. On July 8, 2005, the Paris Court of First Instance ruled they were to cease and desist taking French bets, as it violated the monopoly given to PMU by the French government. ZeTurf appealed and lost. PMU pursued the case to Malta, who refused to address the case on jurisdictional grounds and kicked it back to the French courts.

The European Unions recent decision in the Placanica case, which stated that countries that operate a monopoly under the guise that a tight gaming industry is necessary for the public good cannot turn around and operate the monopoly as a government revenue stream (which they all do), coincided with the PMU legal action to effectively turn the tables on their argument. Thus, PMU went from seeking damages to losing its monopolist status.

France had been one of the staunchest defenders of a state-run monopoly in the gaming industry during the EUs debate over the issue. They had arrested gaming executives, harassed industry officers and clamped down on online advertising firms in the months up to this most recent development. All of its policies will now have to be revisited and by-and-large discarded in order to acquiesce to the new EU ruling.

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