The long-awaited Green Paper on iGaming services in the internal market was released yesterday, the 24th March 2011, in response to calls from the European Parliament and its Member States for us to address certain challenges jointly.
The long-awaited Green Paper on iGaming services in the internal market was released yesterday, the 24th March 2011, in response to calls from the European Parliament and its Member States for us to address certain challenges jointly.
The EC identified that the primary aim of the Green Paper consultation is to “obtain a facts-based picture of the existing situation in the EU online gambling market” while investigating the “different national regulatory models.”
The EC stated that it will accept contributions from stakeholders within the industry until the end of July 2011. It will collect in-depth information on key policy issues such as the organisation of iGaming services and the enforcement of applicable rules of law, consumer protection and other significant public policy issues as well as commercial communications and payment services. Such contributions to the consultation will determine “the need for and form of any EU follow-up action in this field.” The EC also reassured that expert workshops on specific themes will be organised to complement this consultation.
Michel Barnier, the European Commisioner for Internal Market and Services said that “with this Green Paper, we have launched an ambitious consultation with no pre-determined views on its possible follow-up.” Since national regulatory models between one Member State and another differ enormously, it is important to determine how such varied frameworks can co-exist within the internal market, in order to guarantee legal certainty and effective protection of its citizens. In fact, Michel Barnier goes on to say that “this consultation is not about liberalisation of the market,” but “it is about ensuring that the market for online gambling services within the EU is well-regulated for all.”
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