Digital Fairness Act must not inadvertently undermine existing national gambling safeguards
Brussels, 11 November 2026 – The European Lotteries (EL) shares the European Commission's objective of strengthening fairness and consumer protection in digital markets. However, the Digital Fairness Act (DFA) must take into account the particular nature of lotteries and gambling and respect the established regulatory frameworks governing these activities across Europe.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has consistently recognised the particular nature of gambling and its social, cultural and moral implications. It has also acknowledged the broad discretion Member States enjoy in organising and regulating their gambling markets, including in determining the level of consumer protection appropriate to their national circumstances. EU legislation reflects this differentiated approach, explicitly excluding gambling activities from the scope of both the Services Directive and the E-Commerce Directive. This national discretion is also consistent with the principle of subsidiarity: within the limits of EU law, gambling markets are organised and regulated at Member State level, as recognised by the CJEU.
Consumer protection in digital markets is already addressed by a range of EU rules, including the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, the General Data Protection Regulation, the Audiovisual Media Services Directive and the Digital Services Act. These operate alongside comprehensive national gambling frameworks covering licensing, operations, advertising, responsible gambling and the protection of minors and vulnerable consumers. The priority should therefore be to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of this existing framework.
This is particularly important in the gambling market which is affected by illegal operators. Regulated and licensed operators – such as lotteries – are already subject to extensive national safeguards, while illegal operators operate outside these frameworks and disregard the rules designed to protect consumers. Additional horizontal obligations would therefore risk placing further burdens on compliant operators, without effectively addressing those that pose the most serious consumer protection risks.
”Consumer protection must remain the priority. However, in the gambling market which is affected by illegal activities, adding further obligations for licensed operators is no substitute for effective enforcement against those operating outside the law. The focus must be on making full use of the safeguards already in place, including through the Digital Services Act and the responsibilities it places on digital intermediaries. This requires a shared commitment from all relevant stakeholders to ensure that existing rules are effectively implemented and enforced.”
As the proposal moves to the European Parliament and the Council, EL calls on co-legislators to explicitly exclude lotteries and gambling services from the scope of the DFA. Any new EU rules must complement, rather than duplicate or undermine existing national safeguards, while preserving Member States' ability to determine the level of consumer protection appropriate to their markets.
