The European Casino Association’s (ECA) vice-chair, professor Dietmar Hoscher, has called for increased action against unlicensed online gambling providers, at national level.
Delivering a keynote address at the 12th conference of the European Association of the Study of Gambling (EASG), held in Malta, the challenges illegal online gambling posed, and the need for strong national actions, were key issues raised.
Speaking at the conference Hoscher went on to highlight relevant case law and secondary legislation at EU level, to “clearly underline the principle of subsidiarity, and requirement for national licenses, for the legal provision of online gambling services without mutual recognition”.
Highlighting the successes of some countries in stopping illegal gambling, Hoscher went on to discuss that “the available data shows that the provision of illegal online gambling is on the rise in many EU countries where the issue is not yet sufficiently tackled”.
Commenting further: “The continued provision of unlicensed online gambling services has led to an undermining of consumer protection measures, regulatory efforts at national level and puts tax contributions and funding for good causes at risk.
“There is also a threat of links to organised crime and money laundering in connection with illegal online gambling.”
Reacting further to the challenges that lie ahead, Hoscher added in his keynote that: “Policy-makers, regulators and all stakeholders involved need to join forces and stop the provision of illegal online gambling.
“This requires strengthened enforcement of national gambling legislation through blacklists, IP blocking and payment blocking, as well as cooperation with online platforms and intermediaries.
“There is clearly a need and willingness to cooperate between regulators, the licensed gambling industry and other stakeholders to effectively tackle the issue.”
The EASG conference came ahead of the annual conference of the International Association of Gaming Regulators (IAGR) in Copenhagen, Denmark, where these issues will also be on the agenda.
