The European Union will not pursue a common gambling framework for the EU, according to European Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs reiterated the organizations opposition to a single regulatory approach, despite a seemingly continuous number of disputes between individual nations and the EU over policy.
Bieńkowska’s statement came in a letter to Italian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Mara Bizzotto, who had questioned whether a uniform gambling framework for the EU was preferable following the ban on slot machines voted by the government of the Province of Vienna. Bizzotto highlighted that Vienna chose to “prioritize the fight against gambling addiction” rather than focus on the €43m ($48) income from the slots, and asked if “an attempt to harmonise legislation within Member States may be necessary”.
“The Commission does not consider to propose sector-specific EU legislation on gambling services nor is it planning a specific awareness campaign regarding gambling,” Bieńkowska stated in a written answer issued on May 13. The Parliament’s 2011 Resolution on Online Gambling in the internal market rejected the option of EU harmonisation uniformly regulating the gambling sector. In the absence of harmonisation at EU level, it is the responsibility and competence of national authorities to establish rules relating to the location of venues where slot machines are played.”
The statement from Bieńkowska was welcomed by the Brussels-based European Gaming & Betting Association (EGBA) industry body, whose members include Betclic, bwin.party and Unibet. Secretary general Maarten Haijer told TotallyGaming.com that the priority of EGBA members was cross-border cooperation rather than a unified gambling framework for the EU.
