The interest in online gambling has grown big. But what does the EU have to say about the phenomenon?
Gambling in the EU
The EU has no specific legislation regarding gambling that applies to all the EU countries. Each country has the power to formulate their laws for themselves, as long as they comply with the fundamental freedoms established under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the EU.
Safe Online Gambling in the EU
The European Commission supports the EU countries in their efforts to make their legal framework up to date, especially in the framework of administrative cooperation between gambling regulatory authorities. To make gambling as safe as possible, the commission provides support to ensure a high level of protection to the consumers.
Safe Payments
To protect the consumers, safe payments are important. Trustly is on its way to becoming the standard solution. The service is common in many countries all over Europe, for example in the Netherlands. Last year, many casinos decided to connect with Trustly. For safe gambling, you should gamble at online casinos linked with Trustly. Or as they say in the Netherlands,speel trustly casinos in 2020.
Trustly is a way of transferring money from a bank account to a gambling account at an online casino, without a credit card having to be used. Not only is it fast (the transfer is made within a few minutes), it also uses the highest level of encryption standards.
The Different Regulations
Most EU countries allow gambling in some forms. Some allow all kinds of gambling, while others only allow certain types, such as sports betting. Some countries allow land-based gambling, but not online.
In some European jurisdictions, monopolistic regimes offering online gambling services have been established. These can either be controlled by the state or a private operator. In the last few years, the number of countries that allow more than one operator to offer gambling services has grown. The European Union makes no statement in which system is preferable.
Italy, France, and the Netherlands are three of the biggest markets for gambling in the EU, all with gambling laws that differ from each other.
Italy
Italy has always been quite liberal with its land-based gambling. However, it wasn’t until 2010 that online gambling was fully legislated. At this point, Italy is one of the more liberal EU countries regarding online gambling as well.
France
France, just as Italy, was strict on online gambling for a long time. After pressure from the EU, the French government abandoned their monopoly and opened up a more liberal market in online sports betting and online poker. However, online casino games are still not licensed as French lawmakers considered them to be “too addictive”.
Netherlands
For a long time, there was a state monopoly on gambling in the Netherlands. However, in 2020, the Dutch government awarded licenses to private-controlled casino sites. The Netherlands since then has become one of the biggest markets in the EU for online gambling.
