The European Commission recently conducted a study exploring online sports gambling in the EU. The findings showed that there is no legal basis or logical reasoning for creating EU-wide gambling. While many sports betting organizers advocate for EU-wide gambling, others have concerns, many of which the study explored.
The study was conducted by the Institute for Information Law at the University of Amsterdam, and the Dutch Asser Institute. Along with many other factors, they found that “costs associated with the administering of the right to consent to bets will always be considerable” and that there is “no evidence for a link between the financial return stemming from a right to consent to bets and the financing of grassroots sport.”
Non-consensual betting threatens the integrity of the bets placed. While some sports betting organizers see online betting as a substantial source of new revenue, the study found that the financial gains would be insufficient and may not be worth the costs of managing integrity concerns.
All in all, the concerns of corrupt betting practices are undoubtedly high. The legalities alone are likely to make the extra revenue more of a hassle than they are worth. While some members of the EU would like to replicate the French model for online sports betting, the European Gaming and Betting Association discourages others to participate in similar models designed for cross-country betting.
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