Challenge
Stanleybet launched the Fair Play For Sports Betting campaign, calling for fair access to all European markets for all EU-based sports betting operators. However, it was hampered by monopolistic Romanian gambling laws, which prevented it from bringing the full benefits of its cross border business model to the country. The challenge was to get the post-Communist Romanian sports law infrastructure in line with EU law.
Strategy
The strategy was based on the landmark Gambelli judgement. In that court case, our Chairman had been Attorney General. His Opinion had established an important framework for determining the validity on limitations to cross border gambling. Concurrently, our strategy contextualized our inter-institutional communication according the Romanian sports law infrastructure. It utilized the fact that Stanleybet had based its cross border business model on the Gambelli and Placanica rulings.
Results
We were able to demonstrate to the European Commission that Stanleybet was a model of the type of economic activity, which it had a duty to protect. Thanks to our efforts, the EU Commission forced the Romanian state to comply with these very recent extensions to EU competence. Stanleybet now has a lucrative and successful operation in Romania, which benefits consumers.
