Brussels, 07/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - The Swedish Presidency submitted its new report on work on gambling and betting in the second half of this year to ministers at the Competitiveness Council on Friday 4 December (see EUROPE 10021). The report looks at social and economic problems with gambling (like gambling addiction), measures to promote responsible betting and bans on gambling and clamping down on crime. It sets out a catalogue of best practice that the member states can draw on to add to their own arsenal of rule in order to increase consumer protection in the field of gambling.
Malta and the United Kingdom want the EU Council of Ministers to stop working on gambling and they made the same statement as in the past (when the French Presidency submitted a report on gambling, see EUROPE 9794). The two countries urge the European Commission to make progress in its infringement proceedings against a dozen member states in this connection.
EUROMAT, a pressure group for manufacturers, distributors and operators of slot machines but not including casinos, says the Swedish Presidency's report gives an incomplete picture of the industry in the EU. “We are left wondering why the Swedish Presidency hones in on the most regulated form of gambling, deeming it the greatest source of problem gambling, while failing to address the problems posed by other forms of gambling, such as remote gambling and widely available state-run short odds games, such as lotteries and scratch cards”, commented EUROMAT president, Annette Kok, in a press release (M.B./transl.fl)