Against a backdrop of strikes and roadblocks from workers in Italy’s horseracing sector, a delegation from gaming authority AAMS visited Brussels yesterday to seek clarification on a range of proposed new gaming laws presently being debated in the Italian parliament.

This week’s gathering of French politicians and private sector operators revealed that detailed rules for expanded online gambling, including taxation and software licensing, have been under consideration for a number of years but it is the new president’s will, spurred by EU action, that has accelerated the process.

After years of defending its borders from the threat of overseas gaming operators, it appears that France is preparing for a major change in its legislation, with the discussions being framed at a high-level conference next month.

The Legal Gaming in Europe Summit, held last week in London to coincide with the International Casino Exhibition, is fast becoming an essential early season indicator of the progress being made by various European jurisdictions in overhauling their gambling markets. This year, news of positive developments in France and Spain was offset by far less encouraging information emerging out of Germany and Belgium.

A betting revolution could at last be on the cards in France. Yesterday in Paris a watershed conference, supported by several government ministers, gave the first clear indications of French government thinking on reform for the sector.

Voicing concerns over the player protection risks associated with internet gambling, the Advocate General in a high-profile ECJ case said that a state monopoly in online sports betting is not invalidated where an EU member state allows private companies to operate in other gambling sectors such as land-based casinos and slot machines.

The draft gaming bill tabled by minister Carl Devlies last year, which introduces the licensing of online gambling, was passed by parliament in December 2009 and must be enacted by January 2011.

The European Commission has confirmed its interest in the ongoing saga of the excluded Unibet cycling team by writing formally to the Belgian and French governments, with a letter possibly to be sent to Italy in the near future.

A recent conference held by the French parliament on the future of its online gaming regime highlighted some of the obstacles the draft bill faces if a reform is to be adopted by the beginning of the football World Cup in June.

As the player protection policies of both state-owned and private operators come under greater scrutiny from lawyers, regulators and politicians, social scientists are also beginning to conduct research in the field. The debate centres on whether science can contribute to responsible gaming best practice and the broader political consequences of research within the European Union.