EGBA Welcomes GREF Support For European Standard On Markers Of Harm
12.02.2025
Gambling regulators’ support reinforces importance of collaborative approach to safer gambling.
Brussels, 12 February 2025 – The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the Gambling Regulators European Forum’s (GREF) support for the development of a European standard on markers of harm for online gambling within the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). This important standardisation initiative, which stems from an EGBA proposal submitted in 2022, aims to establish a set of behavioural indicators to help more quickly and accurately identify problematic gambling behaviours, also known as “markers of harm”.
Development of the European standard within CEN, which began in 2023, brings together expertise from academia, gambling regulators, operators, and harm prevention professionals across Europe. Expected to be finalised and published by the end of 2025, the standard will be voluntary in nature and will provide a much-needed common definition of markers of harm. A detailed discussion of markers of harm took place in an earlier EGBA webinar on the topic.
“We very much welcome GREF’s support for this important initiative,” said Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA. “The development of a European standard on markers of harm will be a crucial step forward for safer gambling in Europe. It will help establish a more common understanding of problem gambling behaviours and raise the bar on player protection across the industry. Collaboration on safer gambling is crucial and we call on all stakeholders participating in the CEN standardisation process to support its finalisation in the coming months.”
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About EGBA
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) is the Brussels-based trade association representing the leading online gambling operators established, licensed, and regulated within the EU — including bet365, Betsson, Entain, Evoke, Flutter, Kindred, LeoVegas, and Superbet — while Aircash and Sumsub are associate members. EGBA works together with national and EU authorities and other stakeholders towards a well-regulated and well-channelled online gambling market which provides a high level of consumer protection and takes account of the realities of the internet and online consumer demand.
EGBA’s members meet the highest regulatory standards and together hold 267 online gambling licenses, serving 32.5 million customers across 22 different European countries. They represent approximately one-third of Europe’s online gambling gross gaming revenue (GGR).