European Union regulators Thursday told Greece and the Netherlands they must end restrictions that discriminate against betting companies from other EU nations.

The two countries are the latest to run afoul of EU rules that ban countries from protecting nationally run lotteries and other domestic gambling activities while excluding foreign competitors.

Greek and Dutch authorities have two months to act on the EU's request or face legal action, the European Commission warned.

The EU's executive has already taken similar action against other nations. It says governments' arguments that restrictions are needed to protect consumers are only valid if they apply evenly to domestic and foreign gaming companies.

"In both Greece and the Netherlands the recent introduction of new addictive games, intensive and increasing advertising, and the absence of concrete measures against gambling addiction together constitute clear evidence of the absence of a consistent and systematic policy aimed at genuinely reducing gambling opportunities," the Commission said in a statement.

The issue has been given a high profile by the attempts of a number of governments to crack down on the recent increase in trans-border Internet gambling.