Justifications of national gambling policies in France and Finland

Abstract

AIMS – The principles of free trade and free circulation of services within the European Union have created pressures to make the strictly controlled European gambling markets more open. According to the Court of Justice of the European Union, restrictions on gambling are only allowed if they are justified in admissible terms of consumer protection, prevention of criminal activity and protection of public order. This study compares the gambling laws of two European societies, France and Finland, to analyse how their legal frames of gambling have been adjusted to these principles.

Keywords

• gambling
• comparative studies
• policy
• regulation
• sociology
• Finland
• France
• European Union