Brussels, 28/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 25 May, the Competitiveness Council took note of a progress report by the Spanish Presidency on the Council's work on illegal gambling and betting. The report defines illegal gambling as gambling and betting by operators who do not respect the legislation of the country where the gambling and betting services are supplied, assuming that the country's legislation respects the EU Treaty. The Maltese delegation said the Presidency's report was balanced but Malta disagrees with the definition, saying it does not reflect the situation on the ground. Many private gambling operators work from Malta and it applies welfare legislation alongside a liberalisation of the gambling industry. The future Belgian Presidency wants to continue work with a view to the new European Commission Green Paper due to be published in the autumn.
The European Online Gambling and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the Spanish Presidency's idea that transition periods introduced by a member state that amends its legislation have to respect the EU Treaty and that state incumbents should be put on an equal footing with new market entrants, explaining in a press release: “In this respect, the transitional requirements recently introduced in France are discriminatory as they force EU-licensed operators to close all existing French players' accounts and delete their data in order to get a licence (…) while the two historic operators are able to continue their business without any interruption.” The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) argues that the debates related to the European Commission's future Green Paper and discussion at Council should not be used as an excuse for keeping or introducing national legislation that runs counter to the EU Treaty. RGA calls on the Commission to continue with the infringement proceedings launched against several member states: “All of the valid concerns expressed about consumer protection can be fully addressed through appropriate regulation, but far too much of the reports so far have really been about protecting domestic markets and suppliers from competition”.