The French government breathed a sigh of relief last week as the European Commission dropped a long running dispute over state monopolies in the country. It all came after the French had finally bowed to pressure and allowed foreign companies to operate in their country and offer residents a choice of iGaming operators. They’ve now come under attack from another angle, and if they thought the European Commission were tough guys they’d best prepare themselves.
In a press release this morning, Liverpool based company Stanleybet have requested in no uncertain terms that they’d like an end to the restrictions placed on offline betting in the country.
You can imagine Stanleybet CEO John Whittaker standing on a rather large pedestal, when delivering the following retort: “I call upon the European Commission to act speedily in order to remedy this injustice, by pressing France hard to bring its laws relating to offline sports betting in line with the online situation. There are also a small number of other Member States, including Greece and the Netherlands, which have similar unjustified restrictions in their offline betting markets and we trust that action will also be taken against them.”
We also contacted a number of land-based bookmakers, but at the time of writing, we were yet to receive a reply.
The French government should be warned though. The company has promised to introduce their “mate Stanley,” and they’re not talking about a mild-mannered young man. It’s something else entirely.
