European gambling authorities forge alliance in support of the Digital Service Act
European Gambling Authorities European Lotteries (EL), The European Casino Association (ECA) and the World Tote Association, have all merged and created a new alliance called the Alliance Against Illegal Gambling in a bid to support the Digital Service Act.
The initiative is supposed to promote traceability for business users in the online sector, help the coordinated enforcement across different nations in the European Single market, as well as facilitate the tracking and tracing of sellers of illegal services and goods.
Basically, the Digital Service Act will allow users to have the authority to inform online intermediaries about suspected illegal online activities or content. The authorities will then follow up by taking legal action against the culprit.
The legislation and the Digital Markets Act has not received any approval from the European Parliament and Council yet. Despite that, the Digital Service Act has been given the green light by the European Gaming and Betting Association.
While the Digital Market Act doesn’t directly impact gambling regulations, the legislation’s goal is to target social media, take-down orders, and advertising in an attempt to promote a safer gambling environment. Members of the Alliance Against Illegal Gambling underlined the flaws of illegal and unlicensed gambling providers since they are technically creating unfair competition, failing to cover problem gamblers and the country since they are not paying any taxes.
ECA chair Per Jaldung commented on the initiative stating:
“We strongly believe that a greater convergence amongst relevant stakeholders of the EU gambling industry is crucial to tackle common and crucial issues such as illegal gambling, The Alliance aims to raise awareness and work together with policymakers to address it effectively. By bringing together our voices, we can provide a key support in protecting consumers across Europe. Additionally, we fully embrace the Digital Services Act package, which represents a critical step to deal with this particular social scourge.”