EGBA calls on new European Commission to harmonise egaming regulations
Association calls for policy consistency, branding the current system “problematic”
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has called on the new European Commission to deliver a single regulatory framework for online sports betting across Europe.
In a statement released this week, the EGBA said the current cross-border system is “hamstrung by a patchwork of national rules” and that current online gambling regulations in force in many EU countries have “struggled to keep pace” with technological developments online.
Using the example of self-exclusion registers, the EGBA said that only 14 EU countries had adopted a national self-exclusion register, while only 13 require “no underage betting” signs on advertisements.
Levelling criticism at the European Commission, the EGBA highlighted the fact that several measures proposed in this area have yet to be introduced in most European countries.
In addition, the EGBA attacked the commission for disbanding a national group of betting regulatory experts, even though it was “considered a great success and a valuable platform for exchanging best practices and information between countries”.
Current EGBA members include bet365, GVC, Kindred, Betsson, MRG and Zeal.
Maarten Haijer, secretary general of the EGBA, asserted the organisation’s belief that consumer protection standards for online betting should not vary between each EU member state.
Haijer says that “greater regulatory cooperation and better enforcement” of existing EU initiatives and laws would go some way toward achieving this.
“Making the single market work better for those citizens who bet online will require even higher standards than those applied to other online sectors. But leaving it up to EU countries alone has not worked, so the incoming European Commission needs to act,” Haijer added.