Parliament Says No

March 12, 2009

The Members of the European Parliament, or MEPs, have voted and they have decided that they want individual states to make up their own online gambling rules and regulations. The idea was to create a single European Union market for online gambling where everyone would have to follow the same rules and regulations, but it was defeated 544 to 36.

They voted to adopt a nonbinding resolution on the integrity of online gambling, which left the EU states to govern themselves when it came to regulating the industry and protecting their players. There was another option, which said that online gambling was an economic activity that should fall under the jurisdiction of the European Union and their ability to govern freedom of services.

The report also discussed the dangers of online gambling, stating that fears in regards to addiction have so far been unproven and therefore should not be considered an issue. They said that member states should have the right to decide what they will allow and what they won�t allow in regards to online gambling within their individual cultures.

Instead of having simply one set of rules that would govern online gambling for everyone, each state will have their own � and online gambling operators will have to comply with them if they want to do business in their state. The European Commission is of course against what the MEPs have decided � they feel that it is best to have one set of rules and regulations.

 

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