Insight: Online Gambling in Europe

The non-profit European Gaming and Betting Association has put the focus on consumers in its latest newsletter, featuring an interview with the International Federation of Poker chief and a feature on consumer interests in the internal market.

Poker players' expectations in digital age
Award-winning journalist Anthony Holden was elected the first president of the International Federation of Poker in 2009. He spoke to the EGBA about the current climate for poker players in the EU, and discussed the limitations on players in the new digital age.

Mentioning the first poker tournament held legally outside of a casino in Denmark, in which he participated, Holden criticized new legislation for not going far enough, saying that he had to make an international bank transfer in advance of the tournament that ended up costing him more than the tournament buy-in.

Asked about restrictions to playing online poker in the EU, Holden slammed the "segmentation" by separate countries of online poker, adding: "By restricting access, some players may be driven into the hands of unregulated and potentially unscrupulous websites."

Holden did add, however, that he was encouraged by legal progress in some EU member states, such as Denmark, Italy and France.

Payback percentage and problem gambling
Dr. Jonathan Parke, a senior lecturer at the University of Salford, was asked about this review on whether there is a link between problem gambling and payback percentage.

The review was conducted in light of attempts by some EU member states to introduce restrictions on payback percentage in the belief that it will reduce problem gambling.

Interestingly, Parke found in his review that there is no scientific evidence to back up the belief that "appropriate controls of payback percentage" would reduce problem gambling.

Consumer's interest in internal market
Dr. Claus-Dieter Ehlermann, former director-general of the European Commission's legal service, was asked about his opinions on the online gambling debate currently taking place in Europe.

Ehlermann told the EGBA that consumers benefit far more from European laws than they might realize, pointing out that the internal market "provides benefits resulting from the four fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union."

 He went on to give details about the Treaty and its effect on online gambling law.