MEPs urge stronger cooperation to fight online gambling

The European Parliament on Tuesday called for stronger cooperation among European Union (EU) member states and common standards for a framework directive to better fight illegal online gambling across Europe. There should be a clear added value to be gained by an EU-wide coordinated approach in areas such as fight against illegal gambling and protecting vulnerable groups from addictions, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) agreed during a plenary session held in Strasbourg, France. A European code of conduct for online gambling could be the first step of common standards for operators or a framework directive to protect, MEPs said. They also called on the Commission to examine the possibility of blocking financial transactions between banks and blacklisted gambling providers. About 10 percent of all gambling in Europe is being done on the Internet, via mobile phones or interactive platforms, with a market volume in excess of 10 billion euros (13.6 billion U.S. dollars).