EGBA calls for stronger enforcement of EU single market rules

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has called for the single market regulations to be ‘enforced more strongly across all sectors, including online gambling’.

It follows on from the publication of the European Commission’s action plan for the enforcement of the EU single market rules, in which the EGBA agreed that the implementation and enforcement of EU law is a joint responsibility of both the European Commission and member states.

However, the industry body emphasised that ‘joint responsibility does not negate the special role of the European Commission’ nor does it deny its ‘role in supporting Member States to avoid potential infringement by scrutinizing their draft laws and maintaining dialogue via the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) notifications’.

Maarten Haijer, secretary general of the EGBA, commented: “EGBA welcomes the Commission’s commitment to making the single market work but EU law should be enforced more strongly across all sectors, including online gambling.”

The EGBA emphasised that stronger enforcement of single market rules is necessary, especially across the online sphere, for the market to function effectively as EU citizens are spending more time online purchasing goods, services and engaging in entertainment activities, such as online gambling.

The industry body added: “The need for stronger enforcement is particularly clear in those sectors which are not yet harmonized, such as online gambling.

“The EU online gambling sector is worth €22.2 billion, and growing by 10% each year, but the 16.5 million Europeans who bet online experience 27 different sets of national online gambling policies.”