Court of Justice Upholds Annulment of Commission State aid Decision on Dutch Gambling Licence Extension
The Court of Justice (CJEU) has delivered its judgment in case European Gaming and Betting Association v Commission (C-59/24 P), confirming the General Court’s (GC) annulment of the Commission’s State aid decision approving a prolongation of gambling licences in the Netherlands in case T-167/21.
The case involves a complaint by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) against the Netherlands for allegedly granting unlawful State aid to national gambling operators. The Commission dismissed the complaint, finding no grant of State aid due to a lack of advantage on its recipients. However, the GC annulled this decision, ruling that the Commission failed to assess possible indirect advantages to the charities receiving proceeds from license holders.
The Netherlands has appealed on four grounds: that the Court should have declared EGBA’s complaint on indirect aid inadmissible, had failed to adequately justify its findings, misapplied the Tempus Energy judgment and key procedural articles of the Regulation, and incorrectly interpreted the notion of “interested party” under Article 1(h).
The Court rejected all four grounds of appeal, finding that the GC had sufficiently reasoned its judgment, correctly applied the Tempus Energy case law and relevant procedural rules, and properly interpreted the notion of “interested party”, as it correctly identified which entities could claim standing to submit complaints and ensured that EGBA’s role and interest in the case fell within the scope of that definition.
For more information, see the CJEU’s judgment.