Meeting in Brussels on 25 May, ministers briefly discussed a progress report by the Spanish EU Presidency that could pave the way for a legal framework on gambling and betting in the EU.
According to diplomatic sources, the main result of the discussion was an agreement over a common definition of illegal gambling.
According to the Spanish report, illegal gambling may be defined as "gambling in which operators do not comply with the national law of the country where services are offered, provided those national laws are in compliance with EU treaty principles".
UK softens its stance?
So far, Malta and the UK have been opposed to any initiative at EU level on the matter, arguing that gambling is an economic activity like any other, and that EU rules on freedom of services in the internal market need to apply (EurActiv 04/03/09)
However, this time only Malta decided not to support the Spanish Presidency's report and tabled a separate statement on the matter. The UK's tacit approval of the report may signal a softening of its stance, diplomats said.
Malta stresses that it already has high-quality legislation and regulation on illegal gambling and therefore sees no reason for an EU-level initiative on the issue.
Malta and the UK both have inexpensive online gambling licences and favourable tax rates for gambling operators based on their territories, and in a country the size of Malta, tax revenue from online gambling represents a significant sum. Another such "online gambling haven" is Gibraltar.
Commission consultation in autumn
As gambling activities are regarded as essentially national, the European Commission has never proposed common rules to regulate this type of economic activity.
However, after years of ad-hoc rulings by the European Court of Justice to regulate gambling in Europe, Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier announced in February that the EU executive would seek a more coherent way to address the issue (EurActiv 12/02/10).
The Commission's move also followed pressure from EU member states – with the exception of Malta and the UK – and the European Parliament.
Barnier said the Commission will launch a public consultation on the issue with a Green Paper due to be launched in autumn 2010. Specific proposals to tackle illegal gambling could follow afterwards.
Member states have not been consulted on gambling since they decided to leave the issue out of the Services Directive in 2006.
The Spanish Presidency stressed that the rulings of the European Court of Justice "require member states to start a constructive debate and an exchange of views on the concept of illegal gambling" (EurActiv 09/09/09; EurActiv 08/03/07; EurActiv 27/02/06).
