Press Releases

22.03.2019

Brussels, 22 March 2019– Today the European Council meeting in Brussels invited the Commission to come forward with a long-term action plan for better implementation and enforcement of Europe's Single Market rules. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the Council’s statement and urges the incoming European Commission and Parliament to focus on ensuring the Single Market rules are better implemented and enforced to benefit European consumers, particularly in the online environment. The Council’s conclusions are timely and justified. Despite the Digital Single Market being high up the political agenda over the past years, it has not been sufficiently developed to enable Europe’s citizens to benefit from the full potential of a truly functional and integrated online Single Market. The Council aims to correct this with its call on the Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties, to focus on ensuring that the existing rules and freedoms of the Single Market are...

19.02.2019

Netherlands - Today the Dutch Senate approved an online gambling law for the Netherlands, bringing the Netherlands into line with 25 other EU countries who already regulate the activity. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), representing Europe’s leading online gambling companies, welcomes the adoption of the new law as an important step to establish a functioning and well-regulated online gambling market which protects online players. Online gambling is popular in the Netherlands, with 1.8 million Dutch citizens[1] – over 10% of the country’s total population – participating in some form of online gambling last year. But the Netherlands is one of three EU countries (IRE, NL, SLO) that currently do not have any regulation for online gambling. The absence of regulation means there are no Dutch-licensed gambling websites, leaving its citizens to play on websites not regulated by the Dutch authorities - where there is no guarantee of adequate consumer...

18.02.2019

Brussels, Today - The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), representing Europe’s leading online gambling companies, welcomes today’s conclusions of the Competitiveness Council of the European Union on Artificial Intelligence (AI). EGBA believes that AI, if exploited effectively, could have massive benefits for the online gambling sector in strengthening existing measures for identity verification, player protection and fraud prevention. The Competitiveness Council’s conclusions underline the importance of encouraging the development and use of AI in Europe by increasing investment and strengthening research and innovation. The conclusions are part of a broader EU policy debate about the future development and use of AI, which has been initiated by the European Commission and will likely continue into the mandate of the new European Parliament and European Commission. EGBA fully supports the need for an EU policy on AI to fully harness the many benefits of AI and safeguard against its risks. This...

06.12.2018

Only one EU member state has fully implemented the European Commission’s guidelines for protecting consumers in online gambling Brussels, Today – All EU member states, except Denmark, have not fully implemented EU consumer protection guidelines for online gambling, putting the protection of online gamblers at risk by leaving them exposed to unequal and inadequate levels of consumer protection across EU member states, according to a study published today by the City University London. The study “Consumer protection in EU online gambling regulation” reviewed the national implementation of selected key provisions of the European Commission’s guidelines for consumer protection in online gambling,[1]and found major gaps in consumer protection exist in EU member states. For example, only 14 member states have established national self-exclusion registers and only 13 member states require ‘no underage gambling’ signs on advertisements. The Commission’s guidelines aim to encourage a uniform high-level of protection for online gamblers across...

27.11.2018

New industry data from 2017 shows that EGBA members are leading the way in popular digital entertainment. Brussels, Today – European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) members in 2017 had more than 12 million active customers, held licenses in 19 EU member states, processed 354 million online payments, contributed €325 million support to sports, and sustained 33,000 digital and high quality jobs in the EU across 14 member states, according to new 2017 data released today by the industry group. “Europe’s online gambling sector is a growing and popular form of digital entertainment - but with this growth comes responsibility to ensure that people are kept safe while playing on online gambling websites. This new data shows EGBA members are at the forefront of the sector’s development, interacting with millions of customers and processing nearly a million payment transactions each day.” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA.   EU-28 Online...

27.09.2018

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is pleased to announce the addition of MRG (formerly Mr Green & Co) as its newest member. “We are very pleased that MRG has joined the EGBA family and we look forward to working closely together with them towards an open, well-regulated market for online gaming in the EU and EEA. MRG brings a strong profile of responsibility, and together we will work towards developing attractive regulated markets that are capable of channelling consumers and providing a high level of consumer protection. It’s an exciting but challenging time for European operators and we are pleased that reputable operators like MRG recognise the benefits of working closer together through the EGBA in order to meet these challenges” – Maarten Haijer, Secretary General, EGBA. “MRG shares EGBA’s view that the industry must work closer together to create a safe and reliable European digital environment for...