EGBA calls for i-gaming coordination in Europe

Speaking ahead of this event at which Internal Market Commissioner Barnier will speak publicly about online gambling for the first time since his appearance at the Parliament last November, Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of EGBA, said: “European demand for online gambling services continues to grow. As with other areas of eCommerce, European consumers have been voting with a mouse-click. If there is no legal framework to permit popular products to come to market, consumers can be expected to turn to unlicensed and unregulated operators, with all the associated risks. Greater coordination between member states is therefore vital to ensure effective regulation and protection for consumers”.

The EGBA praised Commissioner Barnier for helping to refuel the EU policy debate on online gambling through his Green Paper consultation and the launch of expert workshops to establish the facts in relation to key but emotive issues such as the prevalence of problem gambling.

The EGBA also saluted the European Parliament report (the so-called Creutzmann report) adopted in November 2011, which:

-acknowledges for the first time that national stand-alone solutions are not suitable for tackling the cross-border dimension of the sector, not least consumer protection, and calls for the adoption of an EU framework for online gambling;
-urges the European Commission as ‘guardian of the treaties’ to combat protectionist regimes and swiftly pursue infringement proceedings, some of which have been pending since 2008.

Sigrid Ligné continued: “No economic sector can survive in a climate of sustained legal uncertainty. Certain national regimes are clearly at odds with the treaty-based “red lines” which seek to combat protectionist bias, and the situation is only getting worse. Some have even gone as far as to introduce criminal sanctions against EU operators and consumers on the back of legislation which manifestly violates EU law – yet the Commission does nothing.  Without Commission action now, certain member states will continue to consider that they have “carte blanche” to do as they please.”

The EGBA also pointed to the need for administrative cooperation between member states in order to build mutual trust. The current lack of structured communication has resulted in a proliferation of rules, costly duplication of controls and requirements, but also loopholes and inconsistencies in the way European consumers are protected. To ensure that administrative cooperation is carried out effectively, the EU must establish a legal obligation, and an agreed channel, for member states to give each other mutual assistance.

The emergence by stealth of 27 “mini-markets” for online gambling is harming consumers by restricting choice, fostering a burgeoning ‘black market’ and failing to provide a commercially viable framework for this major segment of the digital economy.  This simply cannot be the way forward.

Finally, EGBA called for overarching EU-wide legislation for online gambling, as there is for virtually all other tradable service. Today, online gambling already falls, or will fall, under the scope of a number of EU rules, such as on data protection, e-signatures and e-ID, public concessions and on take-down and notice of illegal content. But there is currently no EU-level sectorial directive for gambling. EU legislation would and should realise the dual objective of providing consumers with a consistently high level of protection throughout the EU, and ensuring fair market access for licensed operators.

Sigrid Ligné said: “Our end goal is of course a single licence or passport for online gambling, as exists in other sectors. But a practical start should be made now by the Commission proposing a harmonisation of targeted licensing requirements, common technical standards and reporting tools, and common consumer protection standards based on the workshop agreement published in 2011 by the European standardisation body CEN. These are not pie-in-the-sky expectations. They are the bare-bones solution to get us nearer to an EU system which keeps consumers safe wherever they are in the EU, helps curb the activity of illicit operators, provides a level playing field for EU-based, EU-regulated and EU-taxed operators, and produces much needed revenue for EU exchequers at a crucial time for the European economy”.