Opinion: The first major step for EU online gambling harmony
Maarten Haijer, secretary-general of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), argues EC recommendations on consumer protection should be fully enforced
On 9 July, the European Commission published a recommendation for the common protection of consumers of online gambling services in the EU.
The Recommendation proposes a set of concrete and practical measures allowing Member States to implement a common high level of consumer protection measures throughout the EU.
The Recommendation is part of the EU policy on online gambling as developed in the Commission’s Action Plan of 2012 and supported by the European Parliament through its resolution on online gambling from 2013.
While the Action Plan foresaw the publication of two independent and separate Recommendations, the European Commission finally decided to merge them to a single one.
It aims to ensure that gambling remains a source of entertainment; that minors are prevented from gambling and that consumers are provided a safe gambling environment throughout the EU.
The European Commission chose to address issues which the members of the EGBA are since long advocating for and abiding by. It is a genuine positive sign to see that the European executive is taking stock of initiatives from the private sector.
The Recommendation is largely in line with the pan-european CEN workshop agreement on Responsible Remote Gambling Measures, which the Members of EGBA voluntarily adhere to and are regularly audited on.
In that sense, the industry was ahead of the legislative curve and took a pioneering role in the protection of consumers and the establishment of responsible commercial communications. This is what fundamentally differentiates the licensed operators from the unlicensed ones.
Concrete measures
In addition to the practical consumer protection and responsible gambling measures the Recommendation also acknowledges the importance of an attractive regulated offer as “online players look for competing gambling opportunities whenever they perceive a lack of supply, unattractive offers or low returns on their stakes.”
As stated by the European Commissioner for the Internal Market Michel Barnier, encouraging the development of an attractive regulated offer is key to effectively channel consumers away from unregulated gambling websites.
This is why, regardless of the nature of the regulatory regime, there should be measures in place covering all aspects of player protection and, a regulator ensuring the correct implementation of the rules with regards to protecting minors, preventing problem gambling and encouraging responsible advertising.
The Recommendation also points out hat with the current fragmentation of the EU market resulting from the national licensing regime “the multiplication of compliance requirements can create unnecessary duplication of infrastructure and costs for objectives that are essentially similar, resulting in an unnecessary burden administrative burden on regulators.”
The recommendation is thereforean encouraging furtherstep towards enhanced common EU measures. The European Commission does deserve our praise for this.
The necessity for new binding EU wide measures
European consumers deserve to be equally well protected throughout the EU, wherever they reside. The European Gaming and Betting Association is therefore pleased to see that the European Commission is taking the lead in implementing an EU policy for online gambling, which is evidently necessary for this cross-border internet sector.
The Commission will review the implementation of the Recommendation by the Member States in 18 months from today.
The European Commission’s Action Plan of which the recommendation is a result will also face an evaluation at the end of this year. We encourage the Commission to fully implement its Action Plan and address the fragmentation of the EU market with similar actions and legislative initiatives.