European Lotteries strongly supports the Council of Europe Convention to combat sports betting

Lotteries, as the historical partner of sports, have continuously called for strong measures to protect sports integrity. Sport which provides entertainment and conveys significant values, cannot be subject to any suspicion of fraud. Fighting match-fixing and other threats to sports requires cross-border cooperation beyond the national frontiers. In this context, the Council of Europe Convention shall play an important role to protect sport on the European continent.   

EL President Friedrich Stickler: “Sport plays a significant role in our societies, and it is of utmost importance to preserve it from fraudulent behaviours. As betting operators, lotteries strongly welcome in particular the provisions to fight against illegal betting as well as the clear definition of this illegal activity. The Convention should enter into force as soon as possible: the dangers should not be minimalized and we have already lost enough time.”  

EL congratulates 27 Member States of the European Union – all Member States bar one – and the European Commission as well as the non-EU participating States on having agreed to the common very clear definition of illegal sports betting provided for in the Convention. EL deplores that one single Member State of the EU – Malta – is contesting the validity of the Convention under EU law but trusts that the Member States will in good faith and in respect of the institutions support the achievements of the Council of Europe.    

EL calls on the States and the European Union to accede to this Convention as soon as possible. It should however not prevent other initiatives to move ahead in this area notably within the European Union. In this regard, EL already called on the European Union to adopt a common definition of sports fraud as a criminal offense at EU level under article 83 of the TFEU.