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Gambling Discussed by EU Council

Posted on December 15th, 2010

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The EU body responsible for gaming and gambling in the territory is known as the Competitiveness Council of the European Union. It has devised the new plan for gaming throughout Europe. The body has expressed its concerns that a nationalistic approach to gambling cannot address the challenges it poses because the activity is practically borderless. The Competitiveness Council of the European Union prescribed a more diverse and cooperative approach, saying that it is what’s needed in tackling the different issues of gambling in the Union. The council, during the 3057th Competitiveness Council meeting in Brussels last week elucidated on the many issues regarding gambling on the region and outlining the best approaches to addressing such issues. Other issues were also discussed during the meeting, particularly on factors and activities that pose threats to gambling like money laundering, game fixing and organized crime in general.

The current rules for the member states of the European Union are based primarily on economic, ethical, social and cultural considerations. Gambling is a very important economic factor not only for a single country but for the whole region. It is a main contributor to the national as well as international economy in the form of the taxes, and it can generate huge amounts of income in the form of lotteries that can fund some important projects such as some sports ventures, charities or some social and cultural activities. “Finding a balance between the interests of the economic operators and the social and legal considerations is the prime objective,” said the Council in a statement. “The conclusions invite Member States to cooperate more closely to protect consumers, to share experiences and practices and to identify gambling operators in order to avoid illegal gambling. They also point to the need for the regulatory public authorities to supervise more efficiently gambling services. Online gambling is a particular problem due to its cross-border nature.”

The Council emphasized the need of a multinational and a European level meeting on the issue of gambling, with online gambling in particular being the core of the discussion. The Council stressed the need of a more wholistic approach on the regional level stating that the issues are shared by each member state and none of these are unique and distinct for each. The council also stressed that there is a need to address online gambling in the supra national level. The Competitiveness Council of the European Union also emphasized that the same issues that plagued gambling are also present in online gambling and that there is all the more reason to address online gambling in the European level as online gambling does not only cater to specific member states but is rather accessible to all.

The main organization of the gaming and gambling industry, European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), welcomed the council’s decisions and plans. The EGBA is a non profit organization with its headquarters in Brussels; it is the forerunner of the interests of the operators and firms in Europe. “The importance of these Conclusions for online gambling in the EU cannot be underestimated,” said Sigrid Ligné, Secretary General of the EGBA. “The Member States expressly support an in-depth discussion on online gambling in the Internal Market as proposed by Commissioner Barnier. For the first time they have also unanimously agreed to work on very practical measures to improve cross-border cooperation.

Sigrid Ligné further mentioned that the online gambling discussion has evolved since the inception of its talks way back when it was announced. Online gambling has been a hot issue not only in the European Union but also in other countries around the world. Many states in the US have started drafting bills for the legalization of the activity. The benefits of the industry cannot be denied. Some member states of the European Union offer online gambling to its residents. Some even have effective local monopolies which, in most cases, benefits the area greatly. The highest court of Europe has recently decided on the issue on whether or not countries would be able to ban foreign online gambling companies from operating in their jurisdictions. In the June 2010 decision of the same court, it was held that countries could indeed block the entry of foreign online gambling companies—further protecting local gambling companies.