Piergiorgio Gambelli and Others, Case C-243/01, CJEU, 6 November 2003

Restrictions on sport gambling and lotteries for the protection of consumers and for the maintenance of public order. Moral, religious or cultural factors affecting the regulation  of lotteries and gambling.

Art. 43 EC Treaty (Art. 49 TFEU) 
Art. 49 EC Treaty (Art. 56 TFEU) 

1. National legislation which prohibits on pain of criminal penalties the pursuit of the activities of collecting, taking, booking and forwarding offers of bets, in particular on sporting events, without a licence or
authorisation from the Member State concerned, constitutes a restriction on freedom of establishment and the freedom to provide services. 

2. However, these measures can be justified if based on imperative requirements in the general interest, if they are suitable for achieving the objective which they pursue and if they do not go beyond what is necessary in order to attain it and be applied without discrimination.

3. Moral, religious and cultural factors, and the morally and financially harmful consequences for the individual and society associated with gaming and betting, could serve to justify the existence of a margin of appreciation sufficient to enable the national authorities to determine what consumer protection and the preservation of public order require (para. 63). 
(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale di Ascoli Piceno, Italy, for a preliminary ruling in the criminal proceedings before that court against Mr Piergiorgio Gambelli)