The impact of monopolization of the gambling sector in the Republic of Moldova on criminal liability for manipulation of an event and arranged bets

• Author: Gheorghe Reni??
• Position: Department of Penal Law, Faculty of Law, Moldova State University, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, gheorghe.renita@constcourt.md.
• Pages: 74-96

The impact of monopolization of the gambling sector

in the Republic of Moldova on criminal liability

for manipulation of an event and arranged bets1

Lecturer Gheorghe RENI2

Abstract

This pa per a nalyzes the impact of monopolization of the gambling sector in the

Republic of Moldova on criminal liability for manipulation of an event and the arra nged

bets. In this respect, the author made use of the regulator y framework, doctr inal

appro aches, as well as the judicial practice in this field. In the light of the jurispr udence of

the Court of J ustice of the European Union, it was concluded that monopoly in the field of

gambling could be justified only if the goal to combat the danger s of gambling is pursued in

a coher ent and systematic manner . Moreover, it ha s been stated tha t the Pa rliament of the

Republic of Moldova hurried to decide on the establishment of the state monopoly on the

gambling sector , there being no large public debate in respect of this issue. On the other

hand, it was shown th at the sta te cannot appear as a victim of the arr anged bets offence,

even though in the Republic of Moldova the a ctivity of organizing and condu cting betting is

the monopoly of the state. It ha s also been concluded that ther e is no objective and

reasona ble argument to prohibit bets on events that ha ve no sporting na ture in the Republic

of Moldova. F urthermore, legislative inconsistencies in this field ha ve been highlighted and

solutions have been proposed.

Keywords: monopoly, gambling, betting, sports event, betting event, manipulation of sports

competitions, match-fixing.

JEL Classification: K14

1. Introduction

Gambling has a considerable economic significance. At the same time, this

activity rises serious risks to society. For these reasons, states have felt the need to

establish rigorous and unitary regulations in this matter.

In the Republic of Moldova, the legal framework for the organization and

conduct of gambling was first set up by Law no. 285 of 18 February 1999 on

gambling3 (hereinafter referred to as brevitatis causa – „Law no. 285/1999”).

1 The author expresses many thanks to Professor V italie Stati for useful comments and suggestions.

Also, the author expresses many thanks to Professor Natalia Vîlcu-Bajurean for valuable help with

the English translation of the present study. The author is fully responsible for any erro rs in this

article.

2 Gheorghe Reni - Department of Penal Law, Faculty of Law, Moldova State University, Chisinau,

Republic of Moldova, gheorghe.renita@constcourt.md.

3 The Law of the Republic of Moldova no. 285 of 18 February 199 9 on gambling (repealed),

published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 1999, no. 50-52.

Juridical Tribune Volume 8, Special Issue, October 2018 75

According to this Law, only the development of national lotteries constituted the

monopoly of the state.

In essence, Law no. 285/1999 regulates, under certain conditions, an open

market for the organization and carrying of gambling on the territory of the

Republic of Moldova.

Later, things took another turn. In concreto, on 16 December, 2016, the

Parliament of the Republic of Moldova enacted the Law no. 291 on the

organization and carrying of gambling4 („Law no. 291/2016”), which, as a matter

of fact, has replaced (from 6 January 2017 – the date of publication and,

accordingly, the date of entry into force) Law no. 285/1999.

According to Art. 3 para. (1) of the Law no. 291/2016, the organization and

conduct out of the activity in the field of gambling on the territory of the Republic

of Moldova, except for the maintenance of casinos, is a state monopoly and takes

place under the provisions of that law.

At the same time, according to paras. (2) and (3) of the same article, the

state monopoly on gambling activity is carried out by the state through the National

Lottery of Moldova. Moreover, gambling organization activity, which is a state

monopoly – the National Lottery of Moldova – is not subject to licensing.

Some of the provisions of the Law no. 291/2016 are reference norms for

Art. 2421 „Manipulation of an event” and Art. 2422 „Arranged bets”5 of the Penal

Code of the Republic of Moldova („PC RM”).

In this article the author proposes to estimate the impact of the

monopolization of the gambling sector in the Republic of Moldova on the criminal

liability for such activities as manipulation of an event and arranged bets, taking

into consideration in this respect the broad legal provisions, doctrinal approaches,

as well as the judicial practice.

2. The concept of „manipulation of an event” and „arranged bets”

In order to achieve the proposed goal, first of all, it is necessary to

elucidate the concepts of „manipulation of an event” and „arranged bets” in the

meaning conferred by the criminal law of the Republic of Moldova.

Thus, according to Art. 2421 para. (1) PC RM, „manipulation of an event”

means encouraging, influencing or training a participant in a sports event or a

betting event to take actions that would produce a vicious effect on the event in

order to obtain goods, services, privileges or benefits in any form whatsoever, for

4 The Law of the Republic of Moldova no. 291 of 16 December 2016 on the organization and conduct

of gambling, published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2017, no. 2-8.

5 Art. 2421 „Manipulation of an event” and Art. 2422 „Arranged bets” have supplemented the

Criminal Code of th e Republic of Moldova following the enactment by the Parliament of the

Republic of Moldova of the Law no. 38 of 21 March 2013 amendin g and supplementing certain

legislative acts (published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2013, no. 75-81), in

force since 12 April 2013.