Connect with us

EU

Online gambling: Commission refers Sweden to Court of Justice for failure to comply with EU law

SHARE:

Published

12 years ago

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Logo_RedToday (16 October) the European Commission referred Sweden twice to the European Court of Justice for its persistent  failure to comply with EU Law in cases on online betting and poker services. It is a  breakthrough decision because this is the first time that the EC has taken a member state to Court over its online gambling legislation. A number of other pending cases  are ready to be referred and in November 2013 new infringement proceedings were  additionally opened. 

The European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) Secretary General Maarten Haijer said: “EGBA fully supports and commends  the EC for taking this decision. This is a breakthrough that shows a strong commitment to  upholding fundamental European freedoms. Sweden was given many years to bring its  legislation into conformity but regretfully there was little commitment to change.”

He added: “EGBA fully expects other member states to soon be referred to the Court.  There is a long list of pending cases that are ready to be taken to Court. No member state, regardless of its size, should be exempt from scrutiny. However, EGBA stands ready to  support any member state that now decides to reform their legislation to ensure compliance with EU rules.”  Please see link to European Commission press release on the case.

About EGBA 

The EGBA is an association of leading European gaming and betting operators Bet-at- home, BetClic, bwin.party, Digibet, Expekt, and Unibet. The Gibraltar Betting and Gaming  Association (GBGA) is an affiliate member of EGBA. EGBA is a Brussels-based non-profit association. It promotes the rights of more than 20 million adult European citizens  to participate in online gambling of their choice in an informed, regulated, safe and secure  environment. While online gambling remains a smaller part of the total gambling market  (15%), based upon innovation, technology and digital consumer demand, online gambling  transformed itself into an industry champion of the European digital economy with material  spin-over effects towards other digital economies and strong synergies with sports. EGBA members have invested more than €600 million into digital security and contributed to sports with  more than €800M, mainly via sponsorship deal and purchasing innovative sports streaming rights.

Unibet

Advertisement

Share this article:

Share this:
Related Topics:
EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
Advertisement

Trending