A further step towards online gambling enhanced cooperation in Europe
Today, the gambling regulation authorities of France (ARJEL), Germany (Bayern Minister of Interior and Saxony representative within the EU Parliament), Italy (AAMS), Portugal (Santa Casa da Misericórdia), Spain (DGOC) and United Kingdom (Uk Gambling Commission) are informally meeting in Rome and will continue their consultations until tomorrow, at the end of which these authorities will have a Q&A session with the major online gambling operators duly licensed in Italy.
This informal meeting is a prosecution of a dialogue that started in June 2011 with the execution of a cooperation bilateral agreement executed between French (ARJEL) and Italian (AAMS) gambling authorities in order to implement a cooperation and information sharing process to foster contrast of illegal gambling, sports frauds and improve operators’ control when licensed in both countries.
Interestingly the online gambling regulators informal meeting has now been enlarged to four other Member States as at the last meeting, held in Lisbona on July, 2013, the UK Gambling commission joined for the first time.
Let us point out that these Member States share the common principle that gambling activities are of a special nature carrying specific issues such as public order, protection of consumers against fraud and criminal activities, prevention of addiction, integrity of the games and the illegal gambling – and none of them has been concerned by the infringement proceedings launched by the EU Commission at the end of 2013.
Purposes of this informal meeting is mainly to share market data and legal framework information and best practices and to promote a more intense and deeper cross-border regulatory cooperation among the regulators, by-passing the lack of confidence and skepticism that has characterized previous relations.
But this meeting will definitely include hot key topics. One of these is the contrast of the illegal market offer that is conveyed through online gambling operators and providers.
Relevant issues such as the consumer protection and gambling advertising measures, the preservation of ethics in sports and prevention on fraud, will be deepen to urge and guide the EU Commission within its forthcoming recommendations.
Please refer also to my previous publications on enhanced cooperation in online gambling or do not hesitate to contact us.
