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…

iGaming Business – The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has decided that EU law does not prevent the co-existence of liberal gambling regulations in Schleswig-Holstein and the so-called ‘Inter State Treaty’ agreed by the 15 other states in Germany. All of Germany’s 16 states, collectively referred to as the ‘ Länder’, with the exception of the northernmost of Schleswig-Holstein, abide by the treaty, which dictates stricter policies on gambling. The case dealt with by the CJEU focused on the question of whether the successful multi-licence regulation for online gambling operators in Schleswig-Holstein can exist side by side…

EU Observer – In the coming weeks, the European Commission is expected to unveil its recommendations on consumer protection and advertising for online gambling. These recommendations are foreseen in the European Commission’s Action Plan for online gambling which was published in October 2012. Later this year, another recommendation on betting-related match-fixing is expected. As it is generally the case in consumer goods and services sectors, the industry’s expectations regarding such recommendations are high. Member States share the common objective of protecting consumers. However, the many gambling reforms at national level have yielded different results. Through its recommendations, the European Commission…