These days online betting in Europe is regulated in a hodge podge way that begs for homogenization, if the industry as a whole ever wants to guarantee the rights of online players as well as the rights of sports’ industry players, owners and employees.
It’s a difficult affair, to be sure, with different sides all agreeing that cohesion is necessary and also agreeing that what’s best for all is a commitment to free trade, but still dragging their feet towards accomplishing these goals.
For any readers who aren’t economics graduates, the free trade model is a basic tenant of neoclassical thought that theorizes allowing trade without restrictions between two parties is better for the consumer and better for the producer. The idea is that producers will naturally all end up producing what they can produce most efficiently at the lowest cost, meaning they can offer lower costs to customers and, eventually, reap greater profits for themselves.
Of particular interest to the EU talks is something called “The Fisas Report,” this report deals with the ways in which the EU can ensure sports will be kept alive and well, even as new nations, with new teams and events, enter the union. A mode of universal protection must be devised if specific nations’ teams are to continue to thrive with new competition.
The specific needs are recognized as new legislation that must protect the property rights of competition organizers in consideration of the “form of commercial exploitation of competitions,” which is their fancy way of saying “betting.” There is also a call to guarantee ““significant contribution from betting operators” towards “funding grassroots sports” and “protecting the integrity of competitions.””
And although they’re just talking, rather than acting, on their noble intentions one thing remains crystal clear: parliament has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to match-making, game-fixing, illegal betting, money laundering, as well as taking drugs to enhance performance, for they’ve all been made criminal offenses punishable by law.
Like many issues taken up by government the best they can say now, to all of the honest punters out there just looking to make a bit of profit on their chosen teams and matches, is that they’re working on the problems and hope to resolve them quickly. Online sports betting is one of the safest and fairest forms of entertainment. You can check in on sports betting action at sites like Bet365 and Betfair.
