Order of the Court (Eighth Chamber) of 6 September 2018

Freedom to provide servicesRestrictionsGames of chanceNational legislation prohibiting the operation of slot machines without prior authorisation from the administrative authoritiesJustificationRestriction of the availability of games of chance and combatting criminalityDuty to meet the requirements of proportionality and non-discriminationConditionsGenuine pursuit of those objectives in a coherent and systematic mannerDetermination by the national court

(Art. 56 TFEU)

(see paras 22-31, operative part)

Operative part

It is for the referring court to determine, in the light of the guidance given by the Court of Justice inter alia in the judgment of 30 April 2014, Pfleger and Others (C‑390/12, EU:C:2014:281 ), whether a national statutory monopoly scheme in respect of games of chance, such as that at issue in the main proceedings, is to be regarded as coherent, in the light of Article 56 TFEU et seq., where national judicial proceedings have established that:

• gambling addiction does not represent a societal problem justifying State intervention;

• the playing of prohibited games gives rise to police involvement in an administrative context and not to criminal offences;

• annual State income from games of chance exceeds EUR 500 million, being 0.4% of the annual budget; and

• the advertising measures undertaken by licensees also seek principally to entice persons who have not previously played games of chance to do so.