Brussels, 27/01/2011 (Agence Europe) - Could cooperation at European level be a way of ensuring the effectiveness and consistency of national rules on online gaming and gambling? This is a question the Commission will be exploring in its provisional draft Green Paper on online gaming. The adoption of this Green Paper is scheduled for March.
This reflection has been made necessary by both the increasing share of the market of online gaming and gambling and the current diversity of regulation within the EU, from strictly monopolistic regimes to exclusive rights systems. Up until now, these models were able to coexist fairly well, the Commission writes in its provisional draft, but there are problems at cross-border level, particularly when it comes to stamping out illegal internet gambling.
The European Commission is not alone in its concerns. In 2009, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on “The integrity of online gambling”, in which it called on the EU27 to set in place cooperation in this field. Late last year, the Council also put forward conclusions on cooperation between the competent national authorities and the importance of state lotteries in funding charity work. Three important points were also raised: the fight against illegal gambling and money-laundering, the protection of minors and preventing addiction.
The Commission sets out to address these issues in its draft Green Paper, which proposes a definition of online gaming as “games services which involve bets of a monetary value on games of chance, including lotteries and betting transactions provided remotely, electronically, and by the individual request of the service user”. In 50 points, the Commission asks players in the sector about the definition of online gambling, the relevance of regulations implemented in their country, rules on advertising and promoting online gambling and the social impact of online gambling and measures set in place to prevent addiction. Other questions focus on preventing minors from gambling online and measures to check the ages of online gamblers, the fight against fraud and money laundering and the redistribution of profits, notably to charities.
This list of subjects may not necessarily be to the taste of all parties. One person has described the document as “a bit too general and very consensual”. This person, who did not wish to be named, believes that this draft Green Paper relates to “lots of things, without it being really clear where the Commission hopes to go”. A new amended version of the Green Paper should see the light of day very soon, the source added. (S.P./transl.fl)