French regulator gets tough

ZDNet.fr reports that three online gambling related websites have been filtered (blocked) by French ISPs following complaints to French courts by the French regulator ARJEL.
Digibet, Oddsmaker and the French sports betting website Bet4Fight are named as the banned properties.
The issue has been taken to the Paris Court by the regulator, adding to the roll a case against the Costa Rica-based 5Dimes website.
Bet4Fight is a Paris-based site hosted by OVH, but the regulator claims it is unlicensed. The service provider could be liable for penalties of up to Euro 100 000 a day. However, it is understood that OVH has elected to await a judicial decision before ejecting the online sports betting operator, a stance it has previously taken in the Wikileaks case.
Digibet and Oddsmaker are foreign sites which have not responded to ARJEL regarding licensing, resulting in the regulator invoking ISP bans and claiming penalties of up to Euro 10 000 a day.
ZD Net reports that in 2010 the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris ruled in favour of ARJEL and ordered ISPs to “implement or cause to implement without delay all necessary measures to prevent access to from French territory and / or their customers in that territory,” against the British bookmaker Stan James.com.
In late April, the French courts will decide on the filtering action against 5Dimes, which is hosted by ICE in Costa Rica. ICE has undertaken to abide by the decision of the French court, the report notes.

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