Bookmaker sell-off hits EU hurdle

The European Commission has opened a formal investigation under EC Treaty state aid rules to examine UK Government plans to sell the Tote, a British betting operator, to Racing, a consortium representing the various parts of the UK horseracing sector. The Commission believes that the envisaged sale might involve substantial state aid to Racing and has doubts whether the aid favouring racing and betting activities is necessary and proportionate.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/650&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/650&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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