Online Gaming in Europe

Online gaming is developing at a rapid pace. Due to lack of harmonisation in Europe, however, it has to deal with 27 different legal systems. This results in a status of significant legal uncertainty which may eventually implicate negative effects for consumers. The study this publication is based upon examined the related issues and the relevant cases of the European Court of Justice. It turned out that the present status of online gaming - particularly taking into account recent cases - does not reflect the status in which online gaming ought to be in terms of legal certainty. For this reason, a proposal for a directive is introduced and explained. It considers the mentioned situation as well as the results of the study and the special requirements and possibilities of information and communication technology in relation to online gaming. The proposal is thus aiming at the development of a regulatory situation, which enables both players and operators to act in a clear, consistent and safe environment.