THE EFFECT OF THE DIVERSITY OF PUBLIC MORALS AMONG THE EUROPEAN UNION MEMBER STATES ON THE INTERNAL MARKET: ANALYSIS OF CROSS-BORDER INTERNET GAMBLING SERVICES AS AN INTERNAL MARKET PROBLEM

Abstract

This article analyses the responses of the European Union (EU) institutions and the EU member states to the cross-border provision of online gambling services via the Internet, from service providers established in one EU member state to the residents of others. The extensive case law and a variety of non-judicial actions and communications at the EU level provide a rich source of data for analysing whether the diversity of national trade regimes in public morals areas, such as gambling, is a major threat to the overall integration process. The article analyses these data in order to determine whether the diversity of national trade regulations in public morals areas is a threat to the integration goals of the desired EU legal order.