The Remote Gambling Association (RGA) has welcomed the completion of a European Union (EU) Green Paper, 'Towards a comprehensive European Framework for online gambling', which proposes to enhance the safeguards in place to protect consumers, mitigate match-fixing and money laundering, and challenge member states' regimes that infringe EU law.
The Green Paper proposes:
- Formalizing the exchange of information and cooperation between European gambling regulators by 2013;
- Centralizing enforcement against non-compliant operators and fraudulent users at EU level, using enhanced measures, such as payment blocking and disabling access to websites;
- Adopting recommendations on common protection of consumers and on responsible gambling advertising in 2013;
- Extending the scope of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive to all forms of gambling in 2012;
- Promoting expertise exchange between regulators against cybercrime;
- Exploration of the possibility of an EU standard on gambling equipment including gambling software in 2013; and,
- The adoption of a recommendation on best practices in the prevention and combating of betting-related match fixing in 2013, which would include promoting cooperation and dialogue at an international level on the topic.
