26 Amendments of Eija-Riitta KORHOLA related to 2008/2215(INI)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas gambling activities, including online gambling, have traditionally been strictly regulated in all Member States on the basis of the principle of subsidiarity, in order to protect consumers against addiction, fraud, money-laundering and fixed gamesand some forms of gambling even prohibited, which has been confirmed to be justified in the light of general interest objectives (consumer protection, prevention of fraud and other financial crime, preservation of public order) by the European Court of Justice, if proportionate and non-discriminatory,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas all Member States have differentiated such restrictions according to the type of gambling service concerned, such as casino games, sport betting, lotteries or betting on horse-races; whereas the majority of Member States prohibit the operation -including by local operators - of online casino games, and a significant number prohibit in the same way the operation of online sport betting and online lotteries,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas gambling activities were excluded from the scope of Directives 2006/123/EC (services), 2007/65/EC (audiovisual media services) and 2000/31/EC (electronic commerce), and the European Parliament voiced its concern at a possible deregulation of gambling in its resolution of 8 May 2008 on the White Paper on Sport,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the Commission has launched infringement procedures against ten Member States in order to verify whether national measures limiting the cross-border supply of online gambling services, mainly sports betting, are compatible with Community law, whereas, as the Commission highlighted, these procedures do not touch upon the existence of monopolies or national lotteries as such, nor do they have any implication for the liberalisation of the gambling markets in general,
Amendment 24 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas several gamblingan increasing number of preliminary questions on gambling- related cases are pendbeing brefore theerred to the European Court of Justice, which clearly demonstrates a lack of clarity ion the law on online gambling and takes up resourceshow to interpret and apply Community law with respect to gambling,
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas integrity in the context of this resolution means a commitment by operators to preventing not only fraud and crime but also problem gambling and under-age gambling by respecting consumer protection and criminal laws, and to protecting sporting competitions from any undue influence associated with sports betting,
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas sports betting activities and other online games have developed rapidly and in an uncontrolled manner (particularly cross-border on the Internet) the ever present threat of match-fixing and the phenomenon of “lay bets” on specific events in sports matches makes sports particularly vulnerable to illegal betting behaviour,
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas Europol reports that gambling schemes are quite a widespread modus operandi to launder money, an increasing trend, with organised crime groups also making their way directly into the gambling world by buying companies in this field; whereas also the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) reported that Internet gambling might be an ideal web- based "service" to serve as a cover for a money laundering scheme through the net,
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Title 1
Title 1
A transparent marketsector that safeguards the public and consumer interests
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States have a legitimate interest in monitoring and regulating their gambling markets in order to protect consumers against addiction, fraud, money-laundering and fixed gamesmatch-fixing in sport as well as to protect the culturally- built funding structures which finance sports activities and other social causes in the Member States; underlines that online gambling operators should comply with the legislation of the Member State in which they provide their services;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, Member States have a legitimate interest in monitoring and regulating their gambling markets and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, Member States have the right to regulate and control their gambling markets in accordance with the respective tradition and culture of their country in order to protect consumers against addiction, fraud, money-laundering and fixed games as well as to protect the culturally-built funding structures which finance sports activities and other social causes in the Member States; underlines that online gambling operators shouldmust comply with the legislation of the Member State in which they provide their servicesof the residence of the consumer;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that gambling services are to be considered as an economic activity of a very special nature because of the social and public order and health care aspects linked to it, where competition will not lead to a better allocation of resources, which is the reason why gambling requires a multi-pillar approach; emphasises that a pure Internal Market approach is not appropriate in this highly sensitive area and requests the Commission to pay particular attention to the views of the European Court of Justice regarding this matter;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Member States to cooperate closely in order to solve the social and public order problems arising from cross- border online gambling, such as gambling addiction and misuse of personal data or credit cards; stresses the need for a common European position on online gambling with mandatory minimum requirements for protecting consumers and preventing fraud; calls on the EU institutions to cooperate closely with the Member States in the fight against all unauthorised online gambling service offerings;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that actoregulators and operators should closely cooperate with other stakeholders who operate in the field of online gambling, e.g. gambling operators, regulators, consumer organisations, sports organisations, industry associations and the media, share a joint responsibility for the integrity of online gambling and for informing consumers of the possible negative consequences of online gambling;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that criminal activities such as money-laundering and black economies can be associated with gambling activities, and impact on the integrity of sports events; and that the threat to the integrity of sport and sporting competitions impacts heavily on grassroots participation, a key contributor to public health and social integration; and could result in a loss of public trust if a sport is perceived as the subject of manipulation for the financial gain of players, officials or third parties rather than played according to its values, rules and for the enjoyment of its fans;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is of the opinion that the growth of online gambling provides increased opportunities for corrupt practices such as fraud, fixing games, illegal betting cartels and money-laundering as online games can be set up and dismantled very rapidly and due to the proliferation of offshore operators; calls on the Commission, Europol and other national and international institutions to closely monitor and report on findings in this area;
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Supports the development of commonnational standards for online gambling regarding age, limits, a ban on credit and bonus schemes directed ato protect vulnerable gamblers, deposit limits (such as a maximum amount to be played per week), information about the possible consequences of gambling, information about where to obtain help in case of addiction, the potential addictiveness of certain games, and so on;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Considers that self-regulation regarding the advertising, promotion and promotvision of online games is not sufficiently effective and therefore emphasises the need for co- regulation between the industry and the authorities;
Amendment 130 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges Member States, together with the industry, to cooperate at EU level in order to regulate the aggressive advertising directed a take measures against any aggressive advertising and marketing of online gambling in order to protect problem gamblers and vulnerable consumers such as children and young people;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
145. Notes that a Code of Conduct may still be a useful supplementary tool for achieving some public (and private) objectives while adjusting toto take account of technological developments, changes in consumer preferences or developments in market structures;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15.4. Stresses, however, that a Code of Conduct ultimately remains an industry- driven, self- regulatory approach and can therefore only serve as an addition to primary or secondary, not a replacement of legislation;
Amendment 138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Also stresses that the effectiveness of a Code of Conduct will heavily depend on its recognition by the national regulators and consumers, as well as on its enforcement;
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Commission, Europol and the national authorities to collect and share information about the extent of fraud and other criminal behaviour in the online gambling sector, e.g. amongst actors involved in the sector;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Calls on the Commission to undertake an impact assessment of the effects of national regulation of the provision of cross-border gambling services in relation to integrity, social responsibility, consumer protection and matters relating to taxation, in close cooperation with the Member States, comprehensive cost-benefit- analyses about the economic and non- economic effects, including all social costs, that deregulation of national gambling markets would have;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)