After receiving the proposed legislation of online gaming that the nation of Belgium planned to enact, the European Commission yesterday rejected their plan due to language in the proposed laws that appears to be a nationalization plan rather than acceptable regulation and legislation.
According to the European Gaming and Betting Association (EBGA), the European Commission was correct in their decision to prohibit Belgium from putting the new laws into effect. The Belgian plan, which was sent to the EC as well as the other Member Nations – which comprise much of the European continent – on March 27th, looked to put into place laws which restricted the online gaming and betting market to operators solely established in Belgium. This is a violation of the European Union treaty that allows for free trade practices between its Member Nations.
Several areas of the proposed Belgian laws were pointed out by the European Commission to be in violation. They included such language as required the operators of online gaming and poker sites to be based in Belgium, limitation of available licenses, criminal prosecution of customers that would play on non-sanctioned sites and restriction of services from outside nations. Belgium was also looking to use ISP blocking software to prohibit its citizens from playing on other licensed European Union sites, something that the EC was strongly against.
The Director for Regulatory Affairs of the EGBA, Maarten Haijer, was in agreement with the European Commission’s decision to disallow the drafted legislation. “The requirement for operators to be established in Belgium is one of the clearest violations of EC Treaty provisions”, Haijer stated during the EGBA’s announcement of the decision. “It wrongly denies that many online gaming operators are effectively regulated, licensed and controlled elsewhere in the EU. As several jurisdictions in the EU already prove, it is possible to guarantee a high level of consumer protection and have a well regulated and competitive online gaming and betting market at the same time.”
The ruling by the European Commission prevents Belgium from enacting their plan and offers them an opportunity to present an acceptable plan by July 30th. If Belgium proceeds forward and implements the legislation, the EC has stated that they will also proceed with infringement proceedings of the European Union treaty, which could result in trade restrictions within the EU.
The recent refusal to accept Belgium’s plan for regulation of the online gaming and poker industry is in step with previous rulings from the European Commission regarding the subject. On June 8th, the EC rejected a similar proposal from France, whose proposed legislation had many of the same components as the Belgian plan. The French have until August to present an acceptable proposal.
Although the European Commission has been rejecting these proposals from Belgium and France, there is still a great deal of conflict over the issue throughout Europe. Back in March, the European Union was unable to come to any concrete agreement that would allow for the legislation of online gaming and poker and would provide for freedom of trade between its Member Nations. Without such comprehensive legislation, many nations have attempted to nationalize their online gaming industries, which is against the EU Treaty. Until the EU is able to have its Member Nations agree to a comprehensive plan, the conflict over internet gaming and poker will continue to provide problems.
Belgium wanted to join the long list of EU countries that have a monopoly in the gambling sector (Norway, Finland, Holland, Portugal, Greece).
The EU is supposed to be an internal market but this does not apply to the gambling sector.
The truth is that governments do not regulate thinking of consumers but of how they will inflate the budget, thus consumers must join and demand themselves. This is the aim of the Right2bet initiative campaigning in favour of an EU regulated, commercially friendly market in the gambling and in any other economic sector.
Go to right2bet.net and sign the petition that will be presented to the European authorities.