Announcements

EL welcomes the new European Parliament Resolution on online gambling adopted today by an overwhelming majority wherein the Parliament clearly endorses the approach of the European Commission’s Action Plan to not propose a sectoral harmonisation Directive for online gambling.

At their General Assembly on 6 June 2013 in Tel Aviv, Israel, the national lotteries united under the umbrella of EL have elected their new Executive Committee for the 2013-2015 period. Friedrich Stickler has been reconfirmed in his position as EL President. The General Assembly also appointed as First Vice President Christophe Blanchard–Dignac, Chairman and CEO of La Française des Jeux, France and Second Vice President, Dipl.-Kfm. Hansjörg Holtkemeier, Member of the Managing Board of the Deutsche Klassenlotterie Berlin, Germany.

EL welcomes the report on online gambling adopted by the European Parliament committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) on May 30. In this report, the IMCO committee has clearly endorsed the approach of the European Commission’s Action Plan to not propose a sectoral harmonisation Directive for online gambling.

The organisations will work together to share knowledge and best practice in the fight against match-fixing and betting fraud. This will include the exchange of information, advice and expertise on matters of sport integrity and the prevention of sports betting fraud, the involvement of each others experts as speakers at conferences and workshops, collaboration on research projects related to betting fraud and the distribution of research papers in key journals and publications.

On the basis of the European Lotteries (EL) Sports Charter and the EL Helsinki Resolution, European Lotteries Association has adopted the EL Sports Integrity Action Plan, the 7-point programme, a policy document that clearly demonstrates the position of the European Lotteries, its commitment to the fight against match-fixing and its firm support to the EPAS initiative towards the adoption of an international convention against the manipulation of sports competitions. The document calls for 7 concrete actions in the field of sports integrity.

One of the main innovations in the new proposal is the extension of the scope of the Directive, which currently applies only to casinos, to all forms of gambling. EL warmly welcomes this extension.