Activities of Jürgen CREUTZMANN related to 2012/2322(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on online gambling in the internal market PDF (236 KB) DOC (151 KB)
Amendments (37)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 1 a (new)
Citation 1 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution on match- fixing and corruption in sports (2013/2567(RSP),
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recognises that, based on the principle of subsidiarity, the Member States have the right to determine how the offer of online gambling services is to be organised and regulated at the national level, while observing the basic EU Treaty principles;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Emphasises that. according to case- law of the European Court of Justice, Member States may only restrict the fundamental freedoms in the single market where justified on grounds related to the general interest and of a non- economic nature, e. g. consumer protection and the prevention of fraud; such restrictive measures must be suitable and proportionate to reach the desired objectives in a consistent and systematic manner and may not discriminate against foreign operators;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission to continue to carry out effective checks on compliance with EU law of national laws and practices, and to take legal action against gambling monopolies that do not reduce gambling opportunities or limit promotional activities for gambling ilaunch infringement procedures as soon as possible where Member States refuse to adapt their legislation a cconsistent manner, in line with CJEU case-lawrdingly;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines that, according to the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, national monopolies must be subject to strict state control and ensure a particularly high level of consumer protection; activities of monopolies must be coherent with the general interest objectives and reduce gambling opportunities in a consistent manner; calls on the Commission to scrutinise expansionist commercial policies in particular;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Emphasises that Member States that open up their online gambling market must provide for a transparent procedure based on objective and non- discriminatory criteria, in full compliance wis to private operators must provide for licensing procedures which comply with the general principles of transparency, equal treatment and legal certainty, as set out in the case-law of the Court of Justice of the EU lawuropean Union;
Amendment 173 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that Member States who are subject to pending infringement procedures may not implement responsive enforcement measures against operators licensed in another Member State for offering gambling services in their jurisdiction;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Welcomes the initiative by the Commission to create an expert group on gambling to exchange experiences and good practices as well as to provide advice and expertise on the preparation of EU initiatives, notably Recommendations on common protection of consumers, responsible advertising and best practices in the prevention and combating of betting related match fixing;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the expert group on gambling services and on the Commission to facilitate, as much as possible, the flow of data between regulators in the Member States in order to allow for the establishment of a common system for identifying players and to make self- exclusion mechanisms applicable throughout the EUjoint actions against fraud, match-fixing and illegal gambling operators;
Amendment 193 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Welcomes the Commission's announcement to explore possibilities offered by the IMI regulation to cover the exchange of information/cooperation between Member States by 2013; in addition, encourages the Commission to envisage the inclusion of gambling in existing legal frameworks for cooperation between national authorities, for instance in the field of consumer protection;
Amendment 203 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to arrange for the expert group to benefit from the broadest expertise possible in the development of its work, including consultations on best practices with well- regulated third countries and gambling operators where appropriate;
Amendment 210 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance for the expert group to work towards removing unnecessary administrative burdens that preventincrease costs for legal online operators from offering their services to consumerwhen entering into new markets;
Amendment 227 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes thatEncourages national regulators should be able to agree on equivalence clauses that would facilitate the application ofor national licenses, including agreement on with regard to technical standards for gaming equipment and specific legal requirements for economic operators where appropriate;
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Notes that certain countries of the Union may wish to continue to work more closely together in order to address cross- border challenges related to gambling more effectively in the near future; invites those countries to consider the possibility of enhanced cooperation, as set out in Article 20 TEU and Articles 326-334 TFEU;
Amendment 241 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Agrees with the Commission that a fair offer ofn attractive offer of regulated gambling services is necessary for consumer protection, because in its absence consumers are more likely to turn to unreliablegulated gambling websites;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10a. Considers the initiative to adopt a Recommendation on consumer protection a pragmatic step in the right direction, given the large differences between national systems; reiterates its claim that, given the cross-border nature of the internet, there is a clear need for common consumer protection standards in the internal market; calls on the Commission to critically assess, after two years, whether the implemented actions have been effective and whether additional, possibly legislative measures are required at EU level;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Believes that the unquantifiable scope of compulsive gambling points to the need for additional research and data, and therefore calls on all Member States toadditional research and data are needed in order to quantify compulsive gambling and the risks associated with different forms of gambling; welcomes the several ongoing and envisaged EU-funded research projects seeking to gather objective scientific evidence that will help policy- makers to identify effective measures to prevent and treat gambling addiction; calls on all Member States to complement these activities and carry out further studies to understand problem gambling, if possible in a coordinated manner;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to consider legislation to createexplore the feasibility of an EU-wide self- exclusion register, accessible by national authorities and licensed gambling operators, so that any customer who chooses to exclude him- or herself from one gambling operator has the opportunity to be automatically self- excluded from all other licensed gambling operators; underlines that any mechanism to exchange personal information on problem-gamblers must be subject to strict data protection rules;
Amendment 315 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes that the workshop agreement published in February 2011 by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN)23 could serve as a basis for identifying the content of common standards, but remains too vague to guarantee a high level of consumer protection throughout the Union; calls on the Commission to consider further developing the agreement, based on its recommendations and involving all relevant stakeholders;
Amendment 322 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Calls on the Commission to consider implementing a compulsory third party identification control to exclude minors or individuals using fake identities from playing. This could inter alia be a control of social security number, bank account information or other unique identifier. This identification should take place before any gambling activity takes place;
Amendment 336 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15a. Calls on the Commission to include in its Recommendation that gambling operators should be obliged to actively promote the use of self-restrictions at the time of registration as well as in case of repeated losses; furthermore the number of gaming accounts should be limited to one per operator;
Amendment 341 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15b. Welcomes the Commission's initiative to adopt a Recommendation on responsible gambling advertising; calls on the Commission to take into account the fact that minors are normally not a target group for gambling advertising, as they are not entitled to gamble by law; recommends that advertising should not be displayed in relation to content that is specifically targeted at minors;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 c (new)
Paragraph 15 c (new)
15c. Calls for the future recommendation on responsible gambling advertising to include common minimum standards which provide sufficient protection for vulnerable consumers while preserving the possibility for gambling operators to sponsor international sports events;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recommends the introduction of uniform and pan-European common security standards for electronic identification and cross border e- verification services; notes that the different registration procedures across the EU underminecreate administrative burdens for regulated operators, and can push consumers into the hands of illegal operators; calls, therefore, for registract as a deterrent for consumers; welcomes the Commission proposal for a directive on e- identification and idauthentification procedures to be streamlined and made more efficien, which will allow for interoperability of national e-identification schemes where these exist;
Amendment 358 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Underlines that consumer protection measures, which only apply to legal operators and their consumers, should be flanked by a combination of preventive and responsive enforcement measures to reduce the contact of citizens to unauthorised operators; calls on the Commission to explore the option of a legally binding instrument obliging banks, credit card issuers and other payment system participants in the EU to block, on the basis of national white lists, transactions between their clients and gambling providers that are not licensed in their jurisdiction, without hindering legitimate transactions;
Amendment 365 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Welcomes the extension of the scope of the Anti-Money-Laundering Directive to explicitly include all forms of gambling based on a risk-based approach; calls on the Commission to ensure a consistent application of the provisions across the European Union, taking into account the necessity to assess risks on factual grounds;
Amendment 370 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. StressesPoints out the fact that online gambling is a non-cash-based environment and that – given the dependency on third-party financial service providers – additional safeguards against money laundering can be found in the EU's regulatory framework for establishing and licensing financial service providers;
Amendment 392 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Notes that match fixing occurs in both the offline and the online gambling markets; underlines that in the majority of cases online betting related match fixing occurs through gambling operators established in unregulated markets outside the EU;
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Calls upon all sports governing bodies to commit to good governance practices in order to reduce the risk of falling victim to match-fixing;
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Recognises that the provision of sports betting services is a form of commercial use of sports competitions; recommends that Member States should develop models to secure a fair financial return from gambling revenues for the benefit of all levels of professional and amateur sport, but also as a means of strengthening the fight against betting- related match-fixing;
Amendment 404 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Underlines that improved governance will strengthen sports as well as individual athletes resilience against corruption and fraudulent activities; The implementation of basic principles of good governance, financial and operative transparency and accountability as well as stakeholder involvement are key; Underlines that actions required for an effective fight against match-fixing and other criminal and fraudulent activities in sport must take into account law enforcement, education about the risks related to betting related match-fixing as well as better governance of sports organizations, and should involve all stakeholders;
Amendment 412 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Stresses the need for strengthened cooperation at EU and global level in the fight against match fixing; calls on the Commission to take the lead on the creation of a global platform for the exchange of information and best practices and coordination of joint prevention and enforcement actions between regulators, sports organisations, police and judicial authorities and gambling operators;
Amendment 413 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 c (new)
Paragraph 18 c (new)
18c. Strongly reiterates the need for more coordination at European level by the Commission. Therefore suggests setting up an anti-match-fixing centre with the task of collecting, exchanging, analysing and disseminating information and evidence about match fixing and corruption in sport, in Europe and beyond; This centre should also gather best practices in the fight against sports corruption and promote concepts of good governance in sports;
Amendment 418 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 d (new)
Paragraph 18 d (new)
18d. Asks the Commission to strongly encourage all the Member States to explicitly include match-fixing in their national criminal law, to provide for appropriate common minimum sanctions and to ensure that existing loopholes are addressed in a manner that fully respects fundamental rights;
Amendment 421 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 e (new)
Paragraph 18 e (new)
18e. Calls on the Commission to assess the risks related to sports betting, such as gambling on corner kicks, free kicks, throw ins and yellow cards;
Amendment 424 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 f (new)
Paragraph 18 f (new)
18f. Highlights, that match-fixing is not always betting related, and that this non- betting related side to match-fixing, which also poses a problem to the integrity of sports, needs to be addressed as well; (For instance the Italian match-fixing scandal in football which was not betting related, but rather cantered around winning the title and getting the right referees for matches.)