Regulatory progress in sight for online gambling

The Council Conclusions on the Framework for Gambling and Betting in the Member States of the European Union published this week, represent a landmark in the policy discussion surrounding online gambling. This is the first unanimous position that Member States have reached since they began debating online gambling in the Council in 2008. It will provide additional impetus to the recently announced Commission’s Green Paper consultation.

Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA comments; ´The importance of these Conclusions for online gambling in the EU cannot be underestimated. The Member States expressly support an in-depth discussion on online gambling in the Internal Market as proposed by Commissioner Barnier. For the first time they have also unanimously agreed to work on very practical measures to improve cross-border cooperation. The EGBA commends the Belgian Presidency for its hard work and this remarkable result´.  

The Member States agreed on a number of actions that national regulatory authorities could undertake and that will improve cooperation between them. They include cooperation on consumer protection, sports integrity, minimizing unnecessary administrative burdens and sharing of best practice in relation to responsible gambling measures.

Sigrid Ligné adds: “Since Commissioner Barnier announced the Green Paper, the debate on online gambling is evolving rapidly. The landscape has changed. Less than a year ago, these Conclusions would have been unthinkable. The EGBA fully supports the Commission in its efforts to issue the Green Paper as soon as possible.”