Swedish Poker Ad Ban Upheld

A ban on online poker advertisements in Sweden was upheld recently by the European Court of Justice. The ban was specifically for those ads coming from other European Union member states. The court stated that the Swedish legislation was appropriately utilized in making the ban. The statement did not come without a warning, however. If, for example, any penalties leveled against those companies were harsher than similar penalties against companies in Sweden that action would be determined to be discriminatory and against EU law. Some saw the ECJ decision as a blow against online gambling as an industry.