In a surprise move, the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that the Netherlands could block Ladbrokes and Betfair, the popular bookmaker and betting exchange, from offering bets to Dutch gamblers if the reason for the ban was to protect against “fraud and crime.”

All members of the European Union have a free trade agreement that prohibits banning foreign goods from another EU nation in favor of domestic competition. For that reason, in 2008 the Dutch Supreme Court asked the ECJ to rule on whether their position of banning those sites was compatible with EU law.

Representatives from Ladbrokes and Betfair were predictable disappointed. They say that while the Netherlands claim to be concerned with gambling addiction and corruption, their real reason for the ban is to preserve the state-run monopoly on the gambling market in the form of De Lotto.

A spokesman from Ladbrokes said that the stance of the Netherlands was “hard to reconcile with its expansive gambling policy, which is characterized by the introduction and active advertising, marketing and promotion of new gaming products.”

It seems that the Netherlands thinks that gambling is dangerous unless it’s under the control of their government. That’s a common theme among the more authoritative governments and as a monarchy, the Netherlands certainly belongs to that group. I guess Queen Beatrix doesn’t trust the people to make their own decisions about what kinds of bets to make and what people to do business with. Therefore, she will make the decision for you. How kind and protective of her.

In response to the ECJ ruling, Betfair’s European public affairs chief, Tim Phillips, said that the judgment “once again demonstrates the need for the European Commission to take a lead on this issue, so that we can…settle the online gambling debate once and for all.” He and others calls for the EC to pass online gambling legislation at the EU level that would strictly and clearly state the rules each member nation must follow regarding online gambling.