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CEN publishes new EGBA standard on markers of gambling harm
The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has published a new standard on markers of gambling harm proposed by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) back in 2022.
The publication of EN 18144 comes after the approval of the markers by the EU’s national standardization authorities in October 2025, which identifies nine main behavioral signs to improve consumer protection in Europe. The measure is aimed to help operators recognize any problem gambling patterns with the following markers:
- Changes in stake volume or frequency
- Speed or intensity of play
- Deposit frequency, size, or failed deposits
- Withdrawals and cancelled withdrawals
- Player-initiated contact
- Gambling session duration or time-of-day play
- Use of multiple products
- Net losses or loss trajectories over time
- Changes to safety tools such as limits and self-exclusion
The Secretary General of the EGBA, Maarten Haijer, commented:
“This is an important milestone for player protection in Europe. When widely adopted, this voluntary standard will lead to earlier identification of risky play and, ultimately, better protection for players. Our members are ahead of the curve on implementation; they are already applying many aspects of the standard and are committed to alignment across their European operations. We encourage other operators to adopt the standard and help raise the bar on player protection across Europe.”
The initiative allows operators to use risk-scoring models in order to review player behavior and flag early risky gambling signs, with the markers believed to be the first of their kind in the gambling industry.
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