Can the regulatons of online players' protecton be harmonised?

Session Title

Session 2-1-C: Gambling Innovation in Policy

Presentation Type

Event

Location

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada

Start Date

29-5-2019 9:00 AM

End Date

29-5-2019 10:25 AM

Disciplines

Consumer Protection Law | Gaming Law

Abstract

Abstract - The characteristics, ongoing expansion and cross-border nature of online gambling renders it very difficult for any individual State to provide adequate safeguards for their consumers. Equally, legitimate international gambling operators struggle to comply with the myriad of varied regulatory requirements and lack of regulatory convergence hinders their ability to develop safer, yet, attractive offer that would divert players’ attention from unregulated sites. Even though the adoption of common standards alone would substantially facilitate better players’ protection, there seems to be little appetite for any harmonising measures. Even a mere cooperation at regional level between the Member States of the European Union is difficult to reach and protectionist attitudes remain strong. The EU Commission’s Recommendation 2014/478/EU on the principles for the protection of consumers and players of online gambling services that was followed by a further cooperation agreement of 2015 aimed to change that by setting out minimum requirements and by encouraging greater trust between national authorities. This paper evaluates current statutory and regulatory provisions of 30 EU/EEA Member States to evaluate the extent to which the Recommendation encouraged greater consistency between Member States and where further work and perhaps stronger harmonising measures are needed.

Implication statement - By evaluating regulatory measures from 30 European States, the paper demonstrates that, in substance, most EU jurisdictions have broadly similar objectives and differences tend to be only formal. This should facilitate better understanding of the distinctions and may allow for better identification of where common standards may indeed be adopted.


Keywords

online gambling, players' protection, harmonization, EU, cooperation, regulation.

Author Bios

Dr Margaret Carran is a Senior Lecturer and Deputy Associate Dean for Education at City, University London who is currently actively researching gambling law and regulation in the ever – changing global markets. She has recently completed her monograph titled ‘Gambling Regulation and Vulnerability’ that has been published by Edwards Elgar as part of Edward Elgar’s Series on Law and Regulation and she is working on creating impact from her research by disseminating her research findings during conference presentations and other public engagements. Margaret’s other publications published in international legal and psychological journals includes discussing the legal classification of penny auctions, evaluating the regulation and impact of gambling advertising, age verification procedures and the influence of social gaming on real money gambling.

Funding Sources

The study has been sponsored and is funded by the European Gaming and Betting Association. The Association also collected significant part of the empirical data that is evaluated and analysed in the study. The Association granted express permission to use the data for the purpose of converting it into an academic article / conference presentation that is subject of this submission.

Competing Interests

Not applicable.

Comments

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May 29th, 9:00 AM May 29th, 10:25 AM

Can the regulatons of online players' protecton be harmonised?

Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada

Abstract - The characteristics, ongoing expansion and cross-border nature of online gambling renders it very difficult for any individual State to provide adequate safeguards for their consumers. Equally, legitimate international gambling operators struggle to comply with the myriad of varied regulatory requirements and lack of regulatory convergence hinders their ability to develop safer, yet, attractive offer that would divert players’ attention from unregulated sites. Even though the adoption of common standards alone would substantially facilitate better players’ protection, there seems to be little appetite for any harmonising measures. Even a mere cooperation at regional level between the Member States of the European Union is difficult to reach and protectionist attitudes remain strong. The EU Commission’s Recommendation 2014/478/EU on the principles for the protection of consumers and players of online gambling services that was followed by a further cooperation agreement of 2015 aimed to change that by setting out minimum requirements and by encouraging greater trust between national authorities. This paper evaluates current statutory and regulatory provisions of 30 EU/EEA Member States to evaluate the extent to which the Recommendation encouraged greater consistency between Member States and where further work and perhaps stronger harmonising measures are needed.

Implication statement - By evaluating regulatory measures from 30 European States, the paper demonstrates that, in substance, most EU jurisdictions have broadly similar objectives and differences tend to be only formal. This should facilitate better understanding of the distinctions and may allow for better identification of where common standards may indeed be adopted.