EU court upholds Portuguese gambling rules

European Union upholds Portuguese government's gambling restrictions.

The EU’s Court of Justice has upheld Portuguese restrictions on online gambling.

The Luxembourg-based court threw out a case brought against the Portuguese government’s nonprofit lottery and betting organization by Gibraltar-based BWIN and the Portuguese professional soccer league.

The soccer league and BWIN had offered soccer games for betting via the Internet in Portugal but were both fined euro75,000 each for violating the gambling restrictions.

The two appealed their fines to the EU court saying it violated key EU freedoms to conduct business anywhere in the 27-nation bloc.

The EU court’s ruling released Tuesday says Portuguese restrictions are allowed under EU law because they aim to protect consumers against risks of fraud and crime.