European Parliament adopted its resolution on the European Dimension in sport

EL-President Friedrich Stickler: “Lotteries have been the prime partner of sport for decades, providing sustainable funding of more than two billion EUR to European sport each year. The European Parliament is making a loud and clear statement towards the European Commission: The sustainable gambling model that lotteries represent must be safeguarded and protected against the threat from illegal operators who evade taxes and do not contribute to society”.

In the EU, sport is the main beneficiary of lottery revenue. Overall, in Europe, approximately one tenth of all the revenue generated from lotteries is allocated to sport – a percentage unmatched by any other sector and an essential contribution to the survival of sport, in particular grassroots sport.

The European Parliament Resolution also explicitly addresses the threat to the integrity of sport from the existence of illegal operators from both within and outside the EU. Friedrich Stickler: “We applaud the European Parliament for making a priority of this issue which is still receiving insufficient attention. It is now time for Member States and the European Institutions to work together to find concrete solutions to combat this plague which is threatening sport throughout Europe”.

The European Parliament calls for making sport a specific criminal offence, as is already the case in Spain, Italy and France. A common definition of sports fraud agreed at European level, accompanied by the inclusion of provisions in the respective national laws, would help Member States’ authorities to work together for the prevention, detection and investigation of match-fixing in connection with sport betting.