The Netherland High Court (Hoge Raad der Nederlanden), the highest Dutch court for civil- and penal cases referred a case regarding the cross-border offer of sports bets for preliminary ruling. The referral is based on proceedings between the private bookmaker Ladbrokes and the Dutch gambling monopoly operator De Lotto. In 2002 Ladbrokes was restricted from accepting sports bets form Dutch citizens. The High Court (Hoge Raad) referred three questions to the ECJ: