Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-02-11-Speech-4-031"
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"en.20100211.4.4-031"2
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, if what you are calling for is further development and harmonisation of the internal market, then we need to have a common set of rules. There are three aspects to online gambling which ought to be considered in this debate. How can we best protect the interests of our citizens and consumers? How can we best prevent fraud and criminal activity? How can we best protect our citizens from harm? The European Parliament resolution of 10 March 2009 on the integrity of online gambling has indicated methods and ways to proceed with regard to this issue. Now, as before, the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe endorses the principles concerning the integrity of online gambling contained in Parliament’s resolution of 10 March 2009.
In accordance with a ruling of the European Court of Justice, each Member State is free, under certain conditions, to regulate online gambling itself and the resolution of 10 March stresses that emphatically. National rules are better suited to combating match-fixing fraud, although this type of fraud cannot be eliminated entirely, as demonstrated by some recent examples in Germany. It has to be said, though, that gambling markets are much better regulated at national level, according to the tradition and culture of the country concerned. Players are offered better protection against addiction, fraud, money laundering and match-fixing if they can play through major online gambling service providers, who always, by definition, operate across borders. We cannot regulate everything according to the internal market concept and particularly not the prevention of underage gambling or gambling addiction.
Online gambling provides increased opportunities for corrupt practices, such as fraud, match-fixing and illegal betting cartels, as online games can be set up and dismantled very rapidly. Illegal offshore betting operators present a particular problem in this regard, as it is almost impossible for them to be regulated or controlled. Profits from gambling should primarily be used for the benefit of society in order to promote amateur sport, amongst other things. It is best to leave this to the competence of national administrations. Continuous funding, for culture and professional and amateur sport, for example, gives individual Member States some justification for permitting gambling. However, a precondition for that is that the risk of addiction must be highlighted and proactively combated.
As the full impact on consumers of the specific forms of gambling services offered online is not yet known, we need to take urgent action to fill this knowledge gap. It is essential in this context that Member States really do fulfil their tasks. Market surveillance is also key, when it comes to online gambling. If we in the European Parliament can agree that Member States have the right, under the principle of subsidiarity, to regulate their gambling markets according to their own traditions and cultures, we also then have to ensure that this is actually happening, through efficient control and market surveillance."@en1
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