13.12.2021 |
EN |
Official Journal of the European Union |
C 502/8 |
Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 14 October 2021 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Verwaltungsgerichtshof — Austria) — MT v Landespolizeidirektion Steiermark
(Case C-231/20) (1)
(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Freedom to provide services - Article 56 TFEU - Games of chance - Making prohibited lotteries available - Penalties - Proportionality - Minimum-level fines - Accumulation - No limit - Custodial sentence in the event of non-payment - Proportional contribution to the costs of proceedings - Article 49(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union)
(2021/C 502/11)
Language of the case: German
Referring court
Verwaltungsgerichtshof
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: MT
Defendant: Landespolizeidirektion Steiermark
Operative part of the judgment
1. |
Article 56 TFEU must be interpreted as meaning that, in proceedings concerning the imposition of penalties for infringement of a monopoly in the sector of games of chance, a national court, hearing an assessment of the lawfulness of a penalty imposed for such an infringement, must specifically assess whether the penalties laid down by the applicable legislation comply with Article 56 TFEU, having regard to the actual rules for determining those penalties; |
2. |
Article 56 TFEU must be interpreted as not precluding a national provision which, in cases where prohibited lotteries have been made commercially available, makes it mandatory to:
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