Betfair's 'Right2Bet' campaign for a more open European Union gambling market this week introduced a new service for online gamblers - a direct line of communication to Members of the European Parliament.

The campaign's latest update focuses on direct written contact with M.E.Ps, urging them to support the campaign.

The petition, which hopes to be among the first of many under the citizens' initiative section of the Lisbon treaty, aims to push the issue of gambling industry deregulation into the debating chambers of the E.U.

Spokesmen for the campaign noted this week that the subject of open markets in the EU is currently 'a very hot topic on the European mainland', with several Polish politicians having been forced out of office for alleged corruption, a Dutch Subaru employee found to have been defrauding his employers to fund trips to Holland Casino, the Portuguese football league fighting a ban on betting sponsorship, and the formation of a new German Cabinet (consisting of both vehemently pro and anti-liberalisation supporters).

Published: 19th November 2009