ECA, EL and WTA United into Alliance to Fight Illegal Gambling

The chairman of the European Casino Association (ECA) Per Jaldung says the new partnership between the ECA, the European Lotteries (EL) and the World Tote Association (WTA) will provide important support for customer safety across Europe.

The three bodies have come together to endorse the European Commission's new Digital Services Act bundle, which seeks to modernize the laws for fighting illegal online gambling, through its notice-and-action process.

Consequently, the ECA, EL and WTA have united forces in the Alliance Against Illegal Gambling in favor of the act, with the ECA arguing that such behavior represents a serious challenge to the welfare of all members across the continent. It is written in open letter, that "The Alliance represents over 150 operators in the gambling and lottery sector in Europe, where together they contribute more than 35 billion euros yearly to good causes and state budgets. Almost 1 million people are – directly and indirectly – employed by the members of the Alliance. With over 350 000 independent points of sale for lotteries and around 900 casinos across whole Europe, these operators offer a wide variety of safe, well-regulated and controlled games and channel the players to this legal and nationally licensed supply of games."

“We strongly believe that a greater convergence among relevant stakeholders of the EU gambling industry is crucial to tackling common and crucial issues such as illegal gambling,”

- Per Jaldung said .

He also added:

“The Alliance aims to raise awareness and work together with policymakers to address it effectively. By bringing together our voices, we can provide a key support in protecting consumers across Europe. Additionally, we fully embrace the Digital Services Act package, which represents a critical step to deal with this particular social scourge.”

The ECA added that illegal gambling threatens approved providers' concerns over consumer protection standards.