The European Commission yesterday unveiled a long-awaited action plan for online gambling – a burgeoning industry in Malta – that provides more protection for consumers.
The plan does not propose harmonising regulations across the EU but stricter codes such as the development of better age-verification tools and online content filters.
It also calls for more responsible advertising and increased parental awareness of the dangers associated with gambling, measures to prevent fraud and money-laundering, and the promotion of faster information exchange among member states and whistle-blowing mechanisms.
Member states that would wish to restrict the market by introducing national laws would not be able to do so.
However, as they already can at present, they would be able to limit the cross-border supply of all or certain types of online gambling services to protect the public interest. Before doing this they would have to demonstrate that the measure is necessary.
“Consumers, but more broadly all citizens, must be adequately protected, money laundering and fraud must be prevented, sport must be safeguarded against betting-related match-fixing and national rules must comply with EU law,” Internal Market and Services Commissioner Michel Barnier said.
According to a green paper published by the Commission last year, Malta is considered an “online gambling hub” in the EU.
According to the latest figures, eight per cent of Malta’s GDP depends on the online gambling industry with more than 500 companies registered with the Lotteries and Gaming Authority.
At an EU level, online gambling is one of the fastest growing service activities in the EU, with annual growth rates of nearly 15 per cent and an estimated €13 billion in annual revenues by 2015.
Online gambling covers a range of games of chance such as sports betting and poker, casinos and lotteries, with a market of 6.8 million consumers participating in one or more types of online games.
However, there are also thousands of unregulated gambling websites, often outside of the EU, to which consumers are exposed and which carry significant risks such as fraud and money laundering.