Online Gambling Consultation
The EU Commission is engaging in a wide-ranging consultation and information- gathering exercise to help determine its future policy on online gambling. Online gambling is a fast-developing business in Europe, with almost 15,000 web sites already devoted to it and total annual revenues exceeding €6 billion in 2008.
It is expected to double in size by 2013. National legal frameworks vary across the EU, with different rules applying to licensing, related online services, payments, public interest objectives, and the fight against fraud – the long trail of cases before the ECJ on the topic testifies to the uncertainties surrounding some of the issues.
The EU Commission, in order to ensure legal certainty and effective protection of EU citizens in this fast-growing cross- border service activity, considers that it is important to evaluate how possibly differing models can co-exist within the EU and has published a Green Paper consultation.
Its primary is declared to be obtaining a facts-based picture of the existing situation in the EU online gambling market and of the different national regulatory models.
The Commission seeks the views of stakeholders and wishes to collect detailed information and data on key policy issues such as organization of online gambling services and enforcement of applicable laws; consumer protection and other relevant public policy challenges as well as commercial communications and payment services.
Contributions to the consultation, which can be submitted until 31 July 2011, will determine the need for and form of any EU follow-up action in this field.
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Expert workshops on specific themes will be organized to complement the consultation. Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said: “With this Green Paper, we have launched an ambitious consultation with no pre-determined views on its possible follow-up.”
He added, “The online gambling market in the EU continues to grow rapidly and generates important revenues that are sometimes channelled into good causes. Its expansion must go hand-in-hand with a determination to protect our citizens, especially minors, and to ensure that offers of these types of services within the EU are sound and well-regulated.”
“It responds to calls from the European Parliament and the Member States for us to address these questions jointly. This consultation is not about liberalisation of the market, it is about ensuring that the market for online gambling services within the EU is well-regulated for all.”
The key policy issues of the consultation are:
1. Definition and organisation of online gambling services: the Green Paper is consulting on the main advantages and/or difficulties associated with the co-existence in the EU of different national systems and practices for the licensing of online gambling services.
2. Related services performed and/or used by online gambling services providers: the Green Paper is consulting on rules and practices relating to online commercial communication, customer identification and regulations for payment systems for online gambling services and player accounts.
Bingo Life
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