Breaking French law of 1891

A Maltese company is being threatened with legal action by a French operator for breaking a 114 year old French law. AFP reports:

French betting operator PMU on Thursday threatened to take four foreign bookmakers - three British and one Maltese - to court for breaking its monopoly by offering bets over the internet.
"These bookmakers are breaking the law of 1891. What they are doing is illegal. We are launching legal proceedings against them," said Francoise Toussaint, a spokeswoman for PMU (Pari Mutuel Urbain).

The four companies - Sporting Bet, Bet and Win and Stanley International Betting of Britain and Mr Bookmaker of Malta - have in recent months launched French websites on which they offer odds on a range of French sporting events including horse races and football matches.
France established mutualised betting in 1891 and the PMU was granted a monopoly in 1930 in a bid by the government to protect the public by controlling the industry and preventing its takeover by mafia interests.

The foreign companies plan to defend themselves against legal action by an appeal to the European Union's Court of Justice which, in November 2003, forced Italy to drop similar proceedings against a British bookmaker, according to lawyers..