Online gambling

The Swiss Institute of Comparative Law has finished a comprehensive study on the betting revenue makeup of the European Union's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and has concluded that gambling, which included both land-based and online casino gambling, accounts for 3% of the European Union GDP. Following a request by the European Commission to take a closer look at the legal and economic ramifications that casino games and gambling has on the European Union itself, the Swiss Institute revealed that in 2003, European Union states brought in approximately $8.7 billion in betting revenue.

Included in the report, were figures resulting from the analysis of developments within the casino gaming industry at large, as well as correlations to updated regulation laws and the future state of the gambling industry as a whole. Online gambling, including casinos, poker, sports, bingo and casual gaming, was projected to continue evolving at a very fast rate in conjunction with offshore gambling industry developments.

A major component of the report, which is garnering the most attention at this time, are the results of a close study regarding gambling restrictions in European Union member countries, such as Italy and France. Many of the government casino, lottery and sports betting monopolies go directly against the Treaty of Rome, and violate the ethical clause of maximizing public revenue gains at the consumer's expense.

Following the report, both the European Betting Association (EBA) and Remote Gambling Association (RGA) spoke out against the European Union saying the report confirms what both of the associations have been saying for years. According to the RGA and EBA, this report clearly shows how fragmented the gambling industry is in Europe, and that despite the evidence presented in this latest report, the EU has not addressed what steps may need to be taken to correct the problem. The EBA and RGA are now calling upon the EU to devise a system that balances the power between privately owned gambling companies and the state-owned or state-sponsored entities who currently monopolize the industry.