Online Gambling Excluded from Consumer Rights

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Some time back the European Commission (EC) had proposed the creation of a Consumer Rights Directive, which would specify the general guidelines and requirements for businesses in their contracts with consumers. The objective was to safeguard the rights of the consumer across the entire spectrum of economic activity. The Remote Gambling Association Limited (RGA) represents the world's largest licensed and stock market-listed online gambling operators, most of them from Europe. It provides the online gambling industry with a single voice on all issues of importance to regulators, legislators and key decision makers around the world. One of the objectives of the RGA is the creation of a well-regulated and secure environment that allows consumers to enjoy their gambling in a responsible manner but with their interests protected. Therefore, the RGA had welcomed the EC's proposal for a Consumer Rights Directive. The current provisions for issues like the prevention of underage and problem gambling are monitored by national regulatory authorities. The EC's Consumer Rights Directive would have complemented national requirements and set up uniform practices across the European nations.

Unfortunately, the RGA's hopes were short lived. During the negotiations involved in finalization of the document some Member States in the Council succeeded in getting gambling, including online gambling, excluded completely from the ambit of the Directive. The RGA has opined that such exclusion deprives players of the additional protection available under the Directive. The exclusion is also inconsistent with the current approach of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive in which gambling services are included. The RGA has blamed these member states for scuttling pan European consumer rights policies just so that their state owned online gambling operators do not have the onus of additional obligations. An example is the recent reprimand given by the European Court of Justice to the German states that were preventing private operators from entering the market on grounds of consumer protection but were engaging in widespread advertisements of the state owned gambling operators. In fact, one of the key objections of the RGA is against online gambling operators claiming that their products facilitate winning in games of chance.

Clive Hawkswood, Chief Executive of the RGA, released a scathing statement in a press release against this exclusion of online gambling. The statement read, "We are truly disappointed by the exclusion of gambling from the scope of the Consumer Rights Directive, which shows, once again, that some Member States will do anything to protect their own gambling monopolies, also at the expense of consumers. It is particularly disturbing that the same parties that falsely accuse the European private-sector online gambling industry of not wanting regulation actually do their utmost to avoid any EU obligation".

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