Italy
Blocks Maltese Internet Gaming Sites
As reported by the Malta Business
Times: "The Italian state will on Friday
block 684 internet gaming sites which are considered
to be illegal, to protect Italian gamers from
'phishing' – the fraudulent acquisition
of passwords and credit card details.
"All
sites licensed in Malta are included in the
list, which was put into force following Italy's
2006 Budget, to block all online gaming sites
which are not licensed in Italy. The law stipulates
that ISPs in Italy should block the websites,
otherwise they will be fined for every that
they are in breach of the law.
"The
Italians have threatened ISPs in Malta with
a daily fine of EUR180,000 in a unilateral move
that has been described as a case of protectionism.
"According
to the Financial Times, the legal director of
gaming company Betfair, which also has a Maltese
licence, said that Italy's move had unified
the British gambling heavyweights to take legal
action, and have already specialist legal firm
Freshfields..."
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