Through an open later by Secretary general Maarten Haijer, the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has urged the European Commission to develop a new standardized regulatory framework which will clarify gambling laws across Europe.
Mr. Haijer explained that he felt "the cross-border online betting world is hamstrung by a patchwork of national rules," and pointed out that the current framework has resulted in players "experiencing varying levels of consumer protection when they bet online" and thus a standardized framework was needed.
He explained: "While some EU regulation, such as the GDPR and the Anti-Money Laundering Directive, do provide some regulatory basis, the betting sector is regulated entirely by national policies. Each EU state has its own set of rules and requirements.
"They work in isolation from each other and without regard to the internet’s cross-border nature. The consequence: 28 very different sets of regulations and 28 different sets of customer experience.
"In an era where people can easily place a bet on websites based in other countries, the lack of policy consistency is problematic. It means people can easily be exposed to websites that don’t fully protect their rights or interests.
"Only 14 EU countries have adopted a national self-exclusion register, and only 13 require 'no underage betting' signs on advertisements. These are simple measures proposed by the Commission, yet they haven’t been introduced in most European countries."
Haijer subsequently added that ‘formal regulatory cooperation is a necessary first step, followed by standardization and more common rules.’
"Making the single market work better for those citizens who bet online will require even higher standards than those applied to other online sectors," he said. "But leaving it up to EU countries alone has not worked, so the incoming European Commission needs to act."