|
On-line gambling services are today widely offered and used in
the EU and the economic significance of the sector is growing at a
very high speed.
The advent of the internet and the growth of on-line gambling
opportunities are posing regulatory challenges as these form of
gambling services can cross-borders and national regulatory
frameworks differ rather significantly between Member States. These
frameworks can be broadly categorised into:
- licensed operators operating within a strictly regulated
framework and
- strictly controlled monopoly (State owned or other).
A number of Member States have also embarked on a review of their
gambling legislation to account for these new forms of service
delivery. Furthermore, the growth of on-line gambling opportunities
has given rise to the growth of an unauthorised market, which
consists of
- unlicensed illegal gambling and betting activity, including
from third countries and
- operators licensed in one or more Member States offering
gambling services in other Member States without having obtained
the specific authorisation in those countries.
These developments pose regulatory and technical challenges but
they also give rise to societal and public order issues, such as the
protection of consumers from fraud and the prevention of gambling
addiction.
The primary objective of this public consultation is to collect
information from all interested stakeholders on the existing
situation of the EU on-line gambling market and the key policy
issues that the growth of this market gives rise to. These
stakeholders can be citizens, private and public gambling operators,
providers of media-related services, intermediary service providers
(data storage centres, internet service providers, payment service
providers, etc.), sport event organisers, good causes beneficiaries and other beneficiaries, public
administrations and authorities, and other interested stakeholders,
such as those with an interest in treatment or prevention of
problems related to gambling and addiction.
The consultation is an invitation to express your views, share your
expertise and contribute data. Your contributions to the
consultation will determine the need for
and the form of any EU follow-up action in this field.
| 
RSS
