【cassino zero um】EGBA sides with EU court in gambling law dispute

The trade body reiterated the importance of the notification procedure after citing a recent ruling in the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) striking a Lithuanian gambling law after it failed to notify the European Commission about it.

EGBA said the CJEU has consistently upheld draft national gambling regulations, which are “technical regulations” under EU law, must be submitted through the Technical Regulation Information System (TRIS) procedure.

The court ruled recently that failure to notify the Commission of any amendments that expand the scope of existing national laws, or that add new requirements, makes those provisions unenforceable against gambling operators.

Maarten Haijer, EGBA secretary general, said: “Proper notification of draft gambling regulations to the European Commission is essential for good policymaking and to allow for any proposed changes to national gambling frameworks to be scrutinised for their compatibility with EU law.

“The TRIS notification procedure facilitates transparency and allows for potential EU law compatibility issues to be identified before national regulations take effect.”

The association argued the requirement, established under the Directive 2015/1535, was “not merely a procedural formality” but an important safeguard to ensure national gambling laws comply with EU law.

It added disregarding the TRIS notification procedure will result in regulatory failure and market uncertainty that benefits neither regulators, operators nor consumers.

Haijer added: “An effective TRIS procedure also relies on the European Commission to actively scrutinise all incoming notifications, which it has not been doing consistently in recent years.

“We’re confident, however, that the new Commission’s emphasis on the enforcement of EU law will lead to it stepping up its efforts to ensure draft national gambling laws are adequately scrutinised for their compatibility with EU law.”