The RGA has criticised the exclusion of gambling from the scope of the Consumer Rights Directive, which is due to be formally approved by the European Parliament this week.
In the context of the agreement just reached between the EU institutions on the final text of the Consumer Rights Directive, the RGA regrets that the interests of some Member States in excluding gambling from the scope of any piece of EU legislation has prevailed over the protection of online gamblers.
The RGA welcomed the European Commission’s proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive, which laid down general requirements for businesses in their contracts with consumers. The association stated that these safeguards were not specific to one economic activity and in the case of online gambling they would have been an efficient complement to the provisions aimed at avoiding under-age and problem gambling, which are currently laid down at national level.
Chief executive of the RGA, Clive Hawkswood, commented: "We are truly disappointed by the exclusion of gambling from the scope of the Consumer Rights Directive, which shows, once again, that some Member States will do anything to protect their own gambling monopolies, also at the expense of consumers. It is particularly disturbing that the same parties that falsely accuse the European private sector online gambling industry of not wanting regulation actually do their utmost to avoid any EU obligation."
