The European Casino Association has welcomed the European Parliament's adoption of the Resolution on the integrity of online gambling by the vast majority of the Members of the European Parliament.
There were 544 in favour, 36 against and 66 abstentions. The Resolution stresses the special nature of gambling services due to the social and public order aspects linked to them and takes a clear stance against the application of Internal Market principles to this highly sensitive sector.
Ron Goudsmit, chairman of the European Casino Association, said: “The European Parliament has always placed social and public order concerns over purely economic interests. The Resolution acknowledges that Member States are best placed to ensure consumer protection and fraud prevention through the regulation and control of their individual gambling markets and their right to do so have been repeatedly confirmed by the European Courts.”
The Resolution calls in particular on the Commission to carry out research into the risks of online gambling, take appropriate measures to combat illegal online gambling services and aggressive gambling advertising and to come forward with proposals for an EU approach to regulating online gambling.
