The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has lent its backing to a new landmark European standard on markers of harm in online gambling.
While many people enjoy betting and playing online casino games with no problems, others can struggle to stay in control of their spending and develop addiction issues.
Countries are becoming more aware of these problems and taking action as a result and the new landmark European standard on markers of harm in online gambling is currently going through the voting process at the European Committee for Standardisation.
EGBA is calling for delegates of national standardisation bodies to vote in favour of it. The original proposal to CEN – which is the official EU standardisation body – came from EGBA in 2022 and the body wants the standard to be passed when voting closes on September 25.
EGBA said:
“The European standard on markers of harm aims to establish a list of behavioural indicators that, when analysed together, can signal risky or problematic gambling behaviour. These markers – such as changes in speed, time, and duration of play – are essential tools for enabling early intervention and harm prevention in the online gambling environment.”
Collaborative Approach
According to EGBA, safer gambling will require a “collaborative approach” in Europe. The CEN process over the course of the past few years has brought together experts from across Europe. This takes into account everyone from academics and gambling regulators through to operators of online casinos and harm prevention professionals.
Other key stakeholders have also been involved in developing the new landmark European standard on markers of harm in online gambling through national standardisation delegations.
The Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF) is among the organisations backing the new standards landmark and Maarten Haijer, EGBA’s secretary general, said the vote represents a “milestone moment for safer gambling in Europe”.
He added:
“This EGBA-proposed initiative demonstrates precisely the kind of collaboration we need more of – bringing together stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences to create something for the common good. We call on national delegates to approve the important standard, which will contribute to a better understanding of problem gambling behaviour and support more effective harm prevention across Europe.”
What Happens Next?
Voting will close in the CEN process later this week, after which it will become clear whether or not the new landmark European standard on markers of harm in online gambling is approved.
Should it be given the green light by the voting results, the finalised standard would then be published by CEN, with EGBA saying this will happen by the beginning of 2026 at the latest.
Although a lot of organisations across the continent of Europe – including operators of gambling sites such as online casinos – use markers of harm in their efforts to encourage safer gambling efforts, a commonly agreed framework is lacking.
There is no agreed definition of which behaviours constitute markers of harm and this is what the new standardisation process could agree.
If the voting passes, then a unified, evidence-based list of behavioural indicators that have been developed through the use of the latest research and scientific expertise would be passed.
Benefits would include more consistent detection of risky play across online casino operators in Europe, having the impact of the bar on player protection being raised across the industry.
EGBA, which is based in the Belgian city of Brussels, describes itself as acting as the collective voice for the online gambling sector in Europe.