Loteria Romana Case
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Gambling regime in Romania
 organization and operation of gambling
is state monopoly;
 gambling operation can be done only
under authorization and license issued
by the Ministry of Public Finance.
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The beneficiary - Loteria Romana
stock company owned by the State.
object of activity = gaming and bets.
exclusive nationwide rights to organize and exploit the
following games:
lotto,
express,
pronosport,
envelope lottery ticket,
“instant lottery”.
legal possibility to organize and exploit other games,
outside exclusivity.
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Market
LR organizes and exploits, among other games,
Pariloto (number betting games) and Videoloterie (slot
machines).
Other companies may organize similar activities (as
Pariloto and Videoloterie) if they obtain a license from the
Ministry of Public Finances.
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LR’s claims
LR organizes and exploits, among other games,
Pariloto (number betting games) and Videoloterie (slot
machines).
Other companies may organize similar activities (as
Pariloto and Videoloterie) if they obtain a license from the
Ministry of Public Finances.
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LR’s claims
Pariloto and Videoloterie are within the
exclusive area;
The market where LR carries on its
activity is a closed one.
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Pariloto and Videoloterie are within the
exclusive area;
The market where LR carries on its
activity is a closed one.
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ANTITRUST ISSUES
There is no distinction between
the gaming activities for whom
Loteria has exclusive rights and
other types of gaming activities
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Loteria benefits from a
preferential treatment for
both the exclusive and
non-exclusive gaming activities
State aid issues
Financial support
measures
Exclusive and
non-exclusive rights
License granted
through legislative
enactment
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Exemption from
payment of
the social stamp tax
starting with 2002
Exemption from
payment of taxes
and contributions
of any kind
State aid issues
Possible solutions
No state aid
Compatible state aid
Legal basis
Incompatible state aid
Recovery
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Legitimate
expectations
Actions taken by the
Competition Council
Several requests were sent to the Ministry of Public
Finances and to the Romanian Government in order to:
 modify
the
legislation
to
eliminate
discriminating
provisions;
 correctly define and classify gaming activities to
separate the open and non-open segments of the market
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Actions taken by the
Competition Council

opening the investigation on the assessment of the
support measures granted to LR (06.03.2006);
 request for information from the Ministry of Public
Finances, Loteria Romana and its main competitors.
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Things to be clarified
If it is proved that Loteria Romana has/has had
exclusive rights for sport betting and number betting
games, will Loteria Romana invoke its legitimate
expectations as reason for receiving state aid? Does
that represent a valid argument?
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Things to be clarified
If, during the investigation, it is proved that the profit
obtained by Loteria Romana from those gaming
activities is used for financing some objectives of
national interest, can this aid still be granted?
If so, on what regulation can the aid be assessed?
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Assessment in the investigation
The activities/games assessed
organization and exploitation of Pariloto and Videoloterie.
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Assessment in the investigation
The market
 Other companies organize activities (licensed by the
Ministry
of
Public
Finances)
that
can
be
considered
substitutable with Pariloto and Videoloterie.
 There is an open market for each of this games organized
and exploited by LR.
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Assessment in the investigation
The financial support measures:
No licensing procedure (no payment obligations for
license tax);
Exemption from payment of social stamp tax;
Exemption
contributions.
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from
payment
of
other
taxes
and
Assessment in the investigation
Existence of State Aid
1. Transfer of State resources: exemption from payment
to the State Budget;
2. Selectivity of the measures: exemption is granted only
to LR;
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Assessment in the investigation
Existence of State Aid
3. Economic advantage: by not paying taxes, LR had
lower costs than in a normal situation.
4. Distortion of competition and effect on trade between
Member States: the competitors of LR did not receive
the same advantages.
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Assessment in the investigation
Stand-still obligations
The grantor did not notify the intention to grant the aid.
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Assessment in the investigation
The compatibility of the measures with the internal market
Taking in the consideration (i) the characteristics of the
measure (instruments used, the lack of objective, no eligible
cost imposed etc.) and (ii) the provisions of the state aid
regulations, there is not compatibility of the measures with the
internal market.
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Decision

The measures granted to LR represent state aid, illegal and incompatible;

The grantor have the obligation to:
• stop the measures;
• recover the aid with interest from the date on which they were made available
to LR.

Recommendations for the grantor:
• eliminate the legal provisions establishing a preferential treatment for LR;
• precise definition of the LR’s exclusive area.
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Thank you for your attention!
[email protected]
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