Protecting players - EU, over to you
In the latest of our From Dot Com to eGaming series of blog posts looking back over the last decade, Sigrid Ligne, secretary general of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) that numbers Bwin, PartyGaming and Unibet among its members, says that regulation has offered, and continues to offer, the best protection for punters.
OVER THE LAST online gaming and betting has become a market reality that is here to stay. Millions of consumers throughout Europe now enjoy this very popular form of entertainment.
The real kick-off for the European market of course was the Gambelli ruling issued by the European Court of Justice in November 2003.
It confirmed that national market restrictions are acceptable only if they serve non-protectionist objectives and meet strict consistency criteria. This case law has, under the pressure of the European Commission, progressively brought more and more member states to move from a monopoly regime towards a regulated gaming market under a multi-operator licensing system.
The regulatory situation is, however, far from adequate and the patchwork of national restrictions continues to threaten an internet gambling model and deny consumers freedom of choice. We welcome and encourage regulation – no responsible operator wants the free-for-all that an unregulated market brings, as if no reason else, it is bad for business.
In a regulated environment, the internet offers a high level of traceability and transparency of transactions, which are strong deterrents that make fraud and money laundering virtually impossible.
So while some of these restrictions serve only to protect national operators from European competitors, experience has shown that excessive restrictions only force consumers away to websites outside the EU jurisdiction that are potentially unsafe and unregulated.
Progress towards a European regulatory system to ensure consistent protection for European consumers online therefore remains crucial.
The incoming European Parliament and Commission have a tremendous opportunity to develop a regulatory framework that meets both the interests of consumers and the state, while creating a level playing field for operators.
To read the other posts in the From Dot Com to eGaming series, click here.
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