Portugal
Portugal Many of the countries that have been considering expanding their Internet gambling laws may now be re-thinking the idea. That is because the European Court of Justice opened the door for gambling monopolies with their latest ruling.

The Court of Justice ruled that the gambling monopoly that is currently being run in Portugal may be legal under European Union law. They cited that if the monopoly was created so as to be "combating fraud and crime."

The ruling came after Bwin, a leading online gaming company, challenged fines that were being issued to the major soccer league in Portugal. The fines came as a result of Bwin advertising with the soccer league, and legaue teams advertising Bwin on their uniforms.

"This ruling by the EU court is a landmark decision that could change the future of Internet gambling," said observer Xavier Walerd, "individual countries have basically been given the right to ban online gambling companies from entering their market."

This comes at a time when many countries have begun to liberalize their stances on Internet gambling. Italy, for instance, will be allowing online gambling company's to enter their market this Autumn. US lawmakers such as Representative Barney Frank are also looking to change online gambling laws in their country.

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