Brussels, 03/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 30 May, the European Parliament's internal market and consumer protection (IMCO) committee decided in favour of protecting consumers and of fighting against illegal offers of online gambling and betting when they voted on the European Commission's action plan published in October 2013. Through their vote (32 votes in favour and three against), the MEPs reiterated the specific nature of this sector and reiterated the need to respect the principle of subsidiarity. They did not uphold the liberalisation for which the sector was pushing.
Among the protection measures planned, the resolution adopted asks the Commission and member states to study the possibility of implementing “self-exclusion registers” at European level - for example, limits on the loss of personal time, so that every customer who wants to be excluded from games of chance or who exceeds his game limits can be automatically excluded by other games' operators. To prevent under-18 year olds from having access to online gaming websites and to stop the possession of several accounts per player, the MEPs also call for the implementation of uniform common systems for electronic identification. The IMCO committee also asks member states to oblige operators to show a visible label or regulation authority logo on their website in order to facilitate the identification of safe and legal websites.
As far as the fight against money laundering is concerned, the MEPs call for closer cooperation between national gaming authorities, the police and judicial authorities, and they also recommend jointly defining secure payment solutions allowing traceability. In addition, they want to assess the feasibility of blocking financial transactions so as to protect consumers against illegal operators, the IMCO committee states in a press release.
Lastly, on the match fixing section, the MEPs called on the Commission to propose a world platform for the exchange of information and best practice, and better cooperation between all the international bodies concerned. The MEPs will vote on this issue in plenary in July.
This resolution, compiled by Ashley Fox (ECR, United Kingdom), has been welcomed by the umbrella organisation of national lotteries, European Lotteries (EL), which welcomed the strong gesture in favour of player protection. EL welcomed the fact that the member states remain in the driving seat in this domain. Fox himself had to admit that the way the vote turned out was not what he had wanted. He particularly regretted that the MEPs did not support the facilitation of operators setting up everywhere in the EU. However, he believed that the final report was nevertheless a step forward. (SP/transl.fl)