French court fines Maltese company €50,000 a day

Zeturf, a Maltese-registered remote gaming company that is at the centre of a legal battle with France's largest betting syndicate, last week lost its appeal from an earlier interim order issued by a French court.

The French court judgment, while finding in favour of the Groupment d'Internet Economique Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU), brought with it a hefty penalty - €50,000 (Lm21,500) per day of non-compliance.

This is more than a threefold increase of the fine that had been imposed in the original interim order. PMU will still need to seek enforcement of this judgment in Malta.

A spokesman for Zeturf described the appeal judgment as paying lip service to justice and further confirmation that the French courts are squarely behind PMU by entertaining the syndicate's bid to further buttress its staunch monopolistic activity.

Zeturf considers PMU's tactics contrary to the free market principles engendered by the EC Treaty and a serious threat to Malta's fledgling remote gaming industry.

In dismissing Zeturf's appeal, the French court confirmed that Zeturf's actions constitute a manifest illicit activity. It also endorsed PMU's claims that it is a non-profit organisation whose object is the protection of French public order, to limit the possibility of fraud and restrict gambling opportunities.