RGA calls for action against non-compliant EU member states
Chief executive makes reference to bwin being "intimidated" by Belgian regulator.
Lobby group the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has called upon the European Commission to “act quickly and decisively” to tackle those jurisdictions whose egaming regulation is in breach of EU law.
Its comments follow bwin.party co-CEO Norbert Teufelberger’s run-in with Belgian authorities earlier this week, where he was asked to answer questions on the operator’s continued operation in the country despite its lack of a dot.be licence.
Bwin.party issued a statement yesterday saying the operator “maintains the position that it is acting and has always acted in compliance with applicable laws,” and RGA CEO Clive Hawkswood described the questioning as “one of many examples of the sort of injustice that is being faced by our industry because the Commission has yet to enforce properly the rules that it is there primarily to protect.
“We saw the Co-CEOs [sic] of bwin.party, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange and holding multiple licences in Europe, being challenged and intimidated by the Belgian Gambling Commission whilst in Brussels to lobby for fair treatment within the EU. The irony of that cannot be lost on anyone,” added Hawkswood.
The RGA had previously shown its support for last month’s European Commission action plan on online gambling, praising its “renewed commitment to ensure that all EU national regulatory frameworks are fully compliant with EU law”.
However the group said in a statement: “Urgent action needs to be taken against the worst offenders before irreparable damage is done to those online gambling operators who are established and licensed in the EU.”
As well as making reference to Belgium, where operators are unable to obtain a licence without a land-based presence or partner on the country’s soil, the RGA describes laws in Greece and Germany as “surely…an affront to anyone at the Commission who truly believes in a fair, safe and competitive market within the EU”.
The RGA has previously attacked Greek regulatory proposals as “blatantly in breach of EU law” and this week described an attempt to shut down the activities of dot.com operators as “unfair” and “unworkable”, while Germany’s State Treaty has met opposition from many quarters with the German Monopolies Commission describing it as an “attempted monopolisaiton” of the market.
Last year Hawkswood said of the German situation: “The European Commission has repeatedly stated that the draft State Treaty falls foul of EU law and the latest version appears to make little headway in meeting the Commission’s concerns”.