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Policymakers and operators alike are broadly in favour of introducing EU-wide legislation to govern the online gambling market. But common rules should not prevent member states from regulating online gambling as tightly as they want, participants in a European Economic and Social Committee conference heard yesterday (6 September).
The European Commission is currently considering whether to regulate online gambling in the EU following the closure on 31 July of a consultation with stakeholders on the issue.
'Appetite for EU action'
"There's an appetite for action at EU level and it's up to the College of Commissioners to decide what to put in its communication, which will come out in 2012," Pamela Brumter-Coret, acting director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Internal Market and Services (DG MARKT), told a hearing organised yesterday at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
While gambling activities have traditionally been strictly regulated at national level to protect consumers from addiction, fraud, money laundering and match fixing, the exclusion of gambling activities from the EU's Services Directive has triggered numerous complaints from the gambling industry regarding access to national markets.
Regulation of online gambling in Europe currently varies widely, ranging from perfectly liberal markets in some EU member states to outright bans in others, like Sweden.
The absence of EU legislation has given rise to a number of European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings on the issue and several Commission infringement procedures against member states to verify whether national measures limiting the cross-border supply of online gambling services are compatible with Article 49 of the EU Treaty, which guarantees the free movement of services.
Read entire article here.
The European Commission is currently considering whether to regulate online gambling in the EU following the closure on 31 July of a consultation with stakeholders on the issue.
'Appetite for EU action'
"There's an appetite for action at EU level and it's up to the College of Commissioners to decide what to put in its communication, which will come out in 2012," Pamela Brumter-Coret, acting director of the European Commission's Directorate-General for the Internal Market and Services (DG MARKT), told a hearing organised yesterday at the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).
While gambling activities have traditionally been strictly regulated at national level to protect consumers from addiction, fraud, money laundering and match fixing, the exclusion of gambling activities from the EU's Services Directive has triggered numerous complaints from the gambling industry regarding access to national markets.
Regulation of online gambling in Europe currently varies widely, ranging from perfectly liberal markets in some EU member states to outright bans in others, like Sweden.
The absence of EU legislation has given rise to a number of European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings on the issue and several Commission infringement procedures against member states to verify whether national measures limiting the cross-border supply of online gambling services are compatible with Article 49 of the EU Treaty, which guarantees the free movement of services.
Read entire article here.