Press Releases

08.09.2021

EGBA is pleased to announce Flutter has joined our association, strengthening the representation and cooperation of Europe’s leading online gambling operators. BRUSSELS, TODAY – Leading European betting operator Flutter, with popular brands such as Paddy Power, Betfair, PokerStars and Sky Betting & Gaming, has joined the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), the Brussels-based trade association representing the leading online gambling operators established, licensed, and regulated within the EU. Flutter is one of the largest online operators in the world with net gaming revenue of over €5.9bn in 2020. Flutter joins EGBA in its commitment to and promotion of greater industry responsibility in Europe’s online gambling sector, with the CEOs of EGBA’s member companies recently issuing a joint commitment to taking the lead in fostering a stronger culture of safer gambling in Europe. “We are very pleased that Flutter has joined the EGBA family and welcome its commitment towards our ideals of sustainability and fostering a stronger culture of safer gambling in Europe....

21.07.2021

EGBA members report that 75% of their customers now use the safer gambling tools they offer and a 133% increase in the number of personalised communications they sent to their customers to promote safer gambling in 2020. BRUSSELS, TODAY - In a first-ever annual Sustainability Report by the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA), the CEOs of its member companies, Europe’s leading online gambling operators, commit to taking the lead in fostering a stronger culture of safer gambling across Europe’s online gambling sector. In the report, the CEOs commitment is reinforced by data from their companies which confirms that EGBA members are significantly stepping up their safer gambling efforts towards their customers, including through the greater deployment of safer gambling tools and increased communications to promote safer gambling. EGBA’s Sustainability Report 2020/21 outlines the joint efforts and progress made by its member companies in 2020 to promote safer gambling, protect...

20.07.2021

EGBA will introduce new sector-specific guidelines to help Europe’s online gambling companies apply the EU’s anti-money laundering rulebook. BRUSSELS, TODAY - The European Union’s anti-money laundering rules are set to be updated and reinforced after the European Commission published proposals for two anti-money laundering (AML) Regulations and a revision of the current EU AML Directive[1] today. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the proposals and reaffirms its commitment to work with all relevant regulatory bodies, including the European Commission, to combat money laundering in the EU. The Commission’s proposals follow concern and criticism in recent years that some EU member states have not sufficiently implemented and enforced the EU’s current AML rulebook. While the proposed Regulations are primarily aimed at financial services, some of the horizontal changes proposed are also expected to affect Europe’s online gambling sector, including rules on beneficial ownership, customer due diligence and the establishment of...

03.06.2021

Introduction of a European e-ID could have significant and positive impacts on how customer identity is verified in Europe’s online gambling sector The European Commission has today announced plans for a European digital identity, an electronic identity wallet (e-ID) to allow EU citizens to access public and private services online. The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomes the proposal and believes it will lead to more common approaches to identity verification for many online sectors in Europe, including online gambling. The European Commission’s new proposal, which amends the Commission’s previous eIDAS regulation, would oblige EU public and private sector bodies to offer the e-ID and allow for EU citizens to utilise the e-ID anywhere in the EU to identify and authenticate themselves to access services in both the public and private sectors. The EGBA believes that the introduction of a European e-ID could have significant and positive impacts on...

01.06.2021

The German Bundesrat’s proposal to level an additional tax on online poker and slots will provide a substantial and unfair tax advantage to the country’s land-based gambling establishments and be in breach of EU state aid rules, according to a formal complaint submitted by the EGBA to the European Commission. Brussels, 01 June 2021 - The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has submitted a formal state aid complaint to the European Commission in response to the German Bundesrat’s proposal to set a 5.3% tax on online poker and slots stakes in the country. EGBA believes the proposed tax breaches EU state aid rules[1] because it would apply only to online operators and lead to online poker and slots stakes in Germany being taxed at rates 4 to 5 times higher than land-based gambling establishments. The EGBA, representing Europe’s leading online betting companies, has previously warned that the proposed online...

01.06.2021

Der Vorschlag des deutschen Bundesrates zur Erhebung einer zusätzlichen Steuer auf Online-Poker und virtuelle Automatenspiele verschafft stationären Glücksspielanbietern einen erheblichen und unfairen Steuervorteil. Damit verstößt die Steuer gegen die EU-Beihilfevorschriften, so eine formelle Beschwerde der EGBA bei der Europäischen Kommission. Brüssel, 1. Juni 2021 – Die European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) hat als Reaktion auf den Vorschlag des deutschen Bundesrates zur Erhebung einer 5,3-prozentigen Steuer auf Spieleinsätze bei Online-Poker und virtuelle Automatenspiele bei der Europäischen Kommission eine formelle Beihilfebeschwerde eingereicht. „Wir haben den deutschen Behörden frühzeitig unsere Bedenken bezüglich des Steuervorschlags mitgeteilt, jedoch ohne Reaktion. Für die Maßnahme fehlt eine nach EU-Recht gültige Rechtfertigung“, sagte Maarten Haijer, Generalsekretär der EGBA. Die EGBA ist der Ansicht, dass die vorgeschlagene Steuer gegen die EU-Beihilfevorschriften[1] verstößt, da sie nur für Online-Anbieter gelte und zur Folge hätte, dass Spieleinsätze bei Online-Poker und virtuellen Automatenspielen in Deutschland mit vier- bis fünfmal höheren Sätzen besteuert...