EU Commission Proposes Principles to Regulate Online Gambling

The EU Commission published recommendations to help gambling addicts and protect children.

The European Commission published a set of principles yesterday in order to regulate online gambling in its member states. The Commission wants its members to apply the recommendations to their internal regimes in order to regulate online gambling in each country.

“The objective of the proposed principles by the European Commission is to help gambling addicts and protect minors from gambling in its member states.”

The safeguards are the result of two year’s work, but it all started more than ten years ago after the race was off. The primary principles include protecting minors from gambling online, providing more help to problem gamblers and ensuring that gambling ads be socially responsible.

In addition, Brussels will apparently examine closely the newly proposed online gambling regulations by the Republic and make sure that they are in line with the recommended principles by the European Commission. The new legalization of the government aims at regulating online gambling departments like casinos, lotteries and online sport betting.

New Legalizations Must Comply with the Recommendations

According to a spokeswoman from the Commission, it was very clear and aware that the government is planning on introducing an all-encompassing eGambling bill in the near future. In her words, the Commission “will dully assess this at the draft stage”.

Officials want to make sure that the new online gambling legalization compiles with the proposed recommendations. The document of the European Commission points out that the Republic has no official and specific regime to regulate online gambling, therefore, the upcoming legalization is designed to address this issue.

Based on the document published yesterday, the principles of the European Commission are tailored to provide “uniform level of protection” within the union and its member states. The Commission fears that the new and improved technology makes online gambling more accessible to European citizens. People are attracted by the gambling ads from operators and spend a lot of money on gambling.

Aggressive Sales Techniques Lead to Misinformed Choices

The document further reads that there is harmful commercial communication going on. There are aggressive sales practices, as well as the manner in which all this is done, which results to misinformed choices resulting in minors under the age of 18 being attracted to online gambling.

Brussels wants member states to make more serious and efficient steps and ensure that the age and identity of everyone who joins online gambling sites is verified. In addition, it wants rules that can guarantee that minors cannot gamble online and it also wants to reduce the contact with gambling through adverting.

The European Commission also wants more measures to prevent problem gambling such as setting spending limits, alerts about winnings and losses and “time outs” from gambling online.

Last but not least, there should be help lines and addicts should ban themselves from gambling sites easily. Employees of the online gambling sites should also be given appropriate training so they understand the risks and signs of gambling addiction. The options should be available when players decide to sign up with an online gambling site for the first time.