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The Swedish Presidency last month presented its Progress Report on the Legal Framework for Gambling and Betting in the Member States of the European Union to the Competitiveness Council, a report which, according to EUROMAT, “falls very short of a factual, neutral representation of the reality of the modern European gambling industry and which completely overlooks several forms of gambling which currently take place EU-wide”.
When EUROMAT brought these omissions to the attention of the Swedish Presidency, the Presidency agreed with many of the EUROMAT observations, but nevertheless these observations were not reflected in the final report, which still contains many inaccuracies.
“This report provides an incomplete representation of the European gambling industry” said Annette Kok President of EUROMAT “and we are left wondering why the Swedish Presidency zones in on the most regulated form of gambling deeming it the greatest source of problem gambling, while failing to address the problems posed by other forms of gambling such as remote gambling and widely-available state-run short odds games, such as lotteries and scratch cards.”
Inaccuracy I : While tackling the issue of problem and pathological gambling, the Swedish Presidency fails to mention the high risks involved with the unregulated provision of remote gambling services across the EU and solely mentions poker and gaming machines as the main source of problem gambling in Europe, contrary to evidence-based research which shows a real link between uncontrolled remote gambling and problem gambling.
Inaccuracy II : The Swedish report mentions the costs of problem gambling to the Member States but does not mention the high level of tax contributions received by the highly regulated and rightly restricted land-based market and does not address the seriousness of the fact that unregulated remote gambling companies provide services tax-free across the EU, bringing no benefit whatsoever to the customers of the Member States in which these customers are based.
Inaccuracy III : The Swedish Presidency lists a number of tools available to promote responsible gambling but systematically fails to mention how the highly regulated land-based gaming and amusement machine sector has been and continues to be a key promoter of responsible gambling activities in Europe, contrary to that done by other gambling operators.
“We do not find this report to be factually accurate and therefore representative of the European gambling industry. We call on policymakers to consult the available evidence that provides a more balanced and thorough examination of such important and sensitive issues,” concluded Annette Kok.
