European Lotteries present its Sport Charter

Today, mainly through illegal internet business, sport betting has developed into a global gambling service and sometimes even a high-risk financial product, sometimes partially manipulated by crime, undermining the fundamental values and objectives of sport. By adopting their new Sport Charter, EL’s members formalise their commitment to defend the values of the European sport model in light of these new challenges to the integrity of sport.

The European Lotteries President Friedrich Stickler: “With the adoption of our Sport Charter today, EL’s members show that we stand united to defend the values of sport. It is our clear will to do this together with the sport movement. We recognise that match-fixing is perhaps the most serious threat to sport today, noting that in the past year alone, there have been more than 300 cases of match-fixing. There is a clear link to the proliferation of illegal gambling operators: of the 600 billion global sports betting market, one fourth is estimated to be illegal.”

The new Sport Charter goes further than previous statements and commitments by calling - with due respect for Member States and the national regulators’ competence - for the implementation of well defined and properly regulated sports betting services and the implementation of a procedure enabling the determination of the conditions for authorizing live betting. The new Charter further highlights that the prohibition of some forms of betting such as betting exchanges and spread betting should be considered.

An integral part of the Sport Charter is the Appendix, which will be continuously updated in cooperation with members of the Sports movement. Jean-Luc Moner-Banet, Chairman of the EL Sports Committee: “We notably analyse the dangers of specific forms of betting and make recommendations on critical issues such as payout rates and stake limits, anti-money laundering measures, security and audit. We also clearly state our support for the development of criminal procedures to fight match-fixing - including the possibility of creating a specific penal sanction for sports fraud.”

The European Lotteries further call for the establishment of a European agency/observatory, funded from sport betting resources, to monitor the patterns and potential problems. In line with the historic link between lotteries and sport, the signatories of the new Charter commit to following clear rules for sports sponsoring and enhancing the structural partnership with the sports movement, in accordance with the European sport model.

Finally, EL calls for maintaining the sustainable financial contribution from lottery revenue to the sports movement through grassroots and amateur sport, which amounts to more than 2 billion euros per year.