18 Amendments of Christel SCHALDEMOSE related to 2008/2215(INI)
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 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas online gambling combines several risk factors related to problem gambling, such as, among others, easy access to gambling, the availability of a variety of games and fewer social constraints1.
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 37 #
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 games as well as to protect the culturally-built funding structures which finance sports activities and, other social causes and civil society needs 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 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 60 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Member States to cooperate closely in order to solve the 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; and leaving at a national level the competence to rule on the number of license to be granted, the type of games allowed as well as the competence to collect taxes based on the country of consumption principle;
Amendment 70 #
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, an important 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 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 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that sports competition organisers, betting operators and the appropriate regulators cooperate on measures to tackle the risks related to illegal betting behaviour and match-fixing in sport, and explore the establishment of a workable, equitable and sustainable regulatory framework for the financing of measures to protect the integrity of sports and ensure fair financial returns to the benefit of all levels of professional and amateur sport;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Member States to ensure that sports competition organisers, betting operators and the appropriate regulators cooperate on measures to tackle the risks related to illegal betting behaviour and match-fixing in sport, and explore the establishment of a workable, equitable and sustainable regulatory framework to protect the integrity of sports and ensure fair financial returns to the benefit of all levels of professional and amateur sports;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Highlights that sports bets taken by private operators are a form of commercial exploitation of sporting competitions ;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Recommends that Member States protect sports competition organisers from any unauthorised commercial use of their competitions by requiring betting operators to contribute to sport through a specific taxation;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Considers that online gambling creates an increased potential for gambling addiction due to the easy accessibility of gamesthe potential omni- present opportunity provided by the internet to gamble online in privacy, with immediate results and with the possibility of gambling for large sums of money, creates an increased potential for gambling addiction,;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Draws attention to the growing concern about young people’s ability to access online gambling opportunities, both legally and illegally, and stresses the need to have more effective age checks and to prevent underage gamblers from playing free demos on online web sites;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Points out that especially young people may have trouble differentiating between the concepts of: luck, fate, chance and probability; Urges Member States to address the key risk factors which may increase the likelihood of a (young) person developing a gambling problem and to find the tools to target those factors;
Amendment 124 #
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 theany aggressive advertising directed atof gambling online, including free demonstration games available on websites, to protect especially problem gamblers and vulnerable consumers such as children and young people;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls on the Commission to examine in particular the role of advertising and marketing (including online, free demonstration games) in targeting directly or implicitly under-age young people to gamble;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)