European Authorities Team Up To Tackle Illegal Online Gambling
Regulatory bodies from a group of European countries have announced they are teaming up to make a fresh effort to tackle illegal online gambling across the continent.
A new joint statement has been issued by the regulators of Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Portugal and Spain.
The group wants to step up the fight against illegal online gambling, with a statement describing this as “is one of the paramount tasks facing regulated jurisdictions”
While the new agreement between the group of regulators was confirmed at a meeting at the Spanish Directorate General for Gambling Regulation earlier this month, the statement on the matter was only released on November 25.
Data And Information Sharing
The regulators said in their statement that they will be sharing more data and information to tackle illegal online gambling across Europe.
They said:
Its borderless nature and the speed of technological innovation make it easier for illegal operators to evade regulatory oversight.
This creates significant risks for consumer and public health protection, endangers public order and harms the activity of legitimate operators. In short, illegal online gambling undermines the entire regulatory framework designed to protect the public interest.
The statement went on to give more detail about specific concerns at European regulators.
It added:
In this context, we express our common concern regarding the increasing proliferation of advertising targeting our jurisdictions by unauthorised operators, particularly through digital channels such as social media, video platforms, and affiliate networks.
These activities not only violate our national laws but also expose citizens — including minors and vulnerable individuals — to significant risks associated with illegal gambling.
European authorities are combining to take on illegal online gambling
Commitment To Sharing Knowledge
The new commitment to sharing knowledge about illegal online gambling is a step up in the collaboration processes at some of Europe’s largest regulators.
A joint statement from the regulators went on to call on “digital platforms and social media networks to strengthen their control mechanisms to prevent the dissemination of advertising content from unauthorised operators”.
The statement also stressed that regulators will be “reaffirming our commitment to share knowledge and better practices in identifying, investigating, and sanctioning operators acting outside the law”.
It added:
This statement marks a renewed and united commitment by our jurisdictions to strengthen the integrity of the regulated gambling sector and to protect citizens from the risks posed by illegal gambling activities.
Spain Steps Up Efforts
Spain is arguably making more efforts to improve how the gambling sector is regulated than any other country in Europe right now.
Recently, the Spanish capital city Madrid held the first International Gaming Congress, which took place from November 13-14 at the National Mint and Stamp Factory.
Gambling industry professionals were among those in attendance at the event, which was opened by a speech made by the Spanish Minister of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy.
Data that was recently released in Spain found that online gambling revenue had increased to €410.3 million in Q2, which was a 18.5% year-on-year hike.
Spain’s regulator, the Directorate General for Gambling Regulation (DGOJ), said that there had been an 11.7% rise in new accounts, with the new figure recorded at more than 500,000.
DGOJ has also recently announced a new algorithm that it says has been designed to better spot risky behaviour among online gambling users.
