Belgian regulator: We're not protectionist
Peter Naessens considers his country's regulatory regime viable in the absence of a common EU framework - BetVictor CEO says "You have to worry" following detainment of Norbert Teufelberger last week.
The head of the regulatory unit at the Belgian Gaming Commission (BGC) has told eGaming Review that he considers the country’s under-pressure regulatory regime as “viable” and “not protectionist”.
Peter Naessens (pictured) was speaking following yesterday’s publication of an open letter from 14 egaming executives which called upon the European Commission to take urgent action against those regulatory regimes which fail to comply with EU law.
He argued: “In the absence of a common European framework on gaming we are taking actions and not just using words – we think [our system] is viable for European operators without such a [Europe-wide] model.
“We have operators from various countries operating in Belgium in a viable way. Maybe if there was a European framework then measures could be less restrictive, however gaming must in certain ways be restrictive as we have to protect vulnerable players and in the meantime we’re proving we’re not protectionist,” Naessens added.
However BetVictor CEO Michael Carlton, one of the executives who signed yesterday’s letter (which was also sent to EC commissioner Michel Barnier) remains concerned following last week’s detainment and questioning of bwin.party CEO Norbert Teufelberger in Brussels.
He said: “When you start arresting the CEO of a Plc you have to worry about what’s going through the minds of these people, although in this particular case I think it was just opportunistic on the part of the Belgian authorities – him being there made it easy for them but I do not think they have achieved much in doing what they have done.”
“It seemed as though they thought it was a good thing at the time but it hasn’t achieved all that much – the one thing they have helped do is make the whole basis of EU law less clear – or arguably make it clear that Belgian [egaming] law doesn’t comply with EU law,” Carlton explained.
The European Commission is yet to establish whether it will open an official infringement procedure against Belgium, however the BGC remains in conversation with the commission and Naessens suggested: “The commission needs to trust member states as they are acting on this on a regular basis to control the negative effects of online gambling – it should not just be wise to follow the opinions of those with private interests.”
However Carlton argued the consequences facing Belgium only represent part of the issue, with regulations in Greece and Germany also considered by many operators to fall foul of EU law.
“The thing is, there’s a real groundswell of opinion of all gaming companies. We are at a crossroads and it’s affecting the whole industry – it’s supported by more than just the CEOs who signed the letter,” Carlton said.
“The problem is does the EU law apply or does it not? Unless the EC acts now and sorts things out then some markets will remain closed and it will be difficult to recover the position there,” he added.
BNP Paribas issued a note on the matter yesterday, in which it argued: “Given the recent stance of Commissioner Barnier (he said in October he wanted to tackle all such issues shortly, and with serious action), we expect some measures to be taken against those countries.
“Albeit with a long and winding road, we expect regulatory framework to improve significantly in Europe over the coming 2-3 years, and this is proving a crucial moment for online gaming companies to push,” it continued.