Brussels: Major online gambling companies fended off a legal challenge from French Open organizers who wanted to stop bets on the Grand Slam tournament. A Liege court ruled Tuesday that betting companies like bwin did not violate the rights of the French tennis federation by offering bets on Roland Garros matches. The federation had said online betting stained the reputation of the clay-court championship, especially in the wake of Internet gambling scandals.

In France, the Court of Appeal of Versailles has called into question the compatibility of the nation’s gaming legislation with European Union law and placed the burden of proof on authorities to justify that their regulatory framework is consistent, proportionate and justified. The Court’s ruling followed a request by Didier Dewyn, the former Chief Executive Officer for Mr Bookmaker, a gaming company licensed in Malta...

The European Commission plans to decide within weeks whether to step up legal action against Germany over that country's recent move to ban online gambling, a spokesman for the commission in Brussels said Tuesday. The German law came into effect on Jan. 1, banning Web-based betting, with the exception of wagers on horseracing, and restricting other forms of gambling to state-run operators.

"The European Gaming and Betting Association calls on the European Commission to take swift action against the German Interstate Treaty on gaming," the lobby group said in a statement. The treaty, which came into force on January 1, bans online gaming and betting, except for horse races, in Germany. The EGBA said the ban "is in direct contravention of European Union law."