European Lotteries welcomes progress on Digital Services Act

he European Parliament has approved a negotiating position on the Digital Services Act.

Switzerland.- European Lotteries (EL) has welcomed the European Parliament’s adoption of a negotiating position on the Digital Services Act (DSA).

MEPs approved the act’s provisions by 530 votes to 78, with 80 abstentions. The legislation now progresses to negotiation with the European Commission and Council of Europe at the so-called ‘trilogues’ stage.

EL, which provided input on the legislation, says the act would strengthen consumer protection measures as well as measures against illegal online gambling.

The DSA was first proposed by the European Commission in December 2020. It aims to protect digital rights and tackle illegal content, products, services, including illegal online gambling, to increase the transparency of algorithms and to manage content moderation.

New provisions introduced by the European Parliament include measures that aim to create greater transparency and informed choice plus the prohibition of targeting or amplification techniques involving the data of minors and other special categories for displaying advertising.

EL Secretary General Arjan van ‘t Veer said: “EL Members strongly believe in a high level of consumer protection and are fully committed to the fight against illegal online gambling.

“The DSA foresees a number of new provisions that could be beneficial to this end. EL hopes that these will be at the disposal of its Members, most notably an improved notice-and-action mechanism, the concept of trusted flaggers and enhanced consumer protection and know-your-business-customer requirements.”

DSA input from European Lotteries

In October, EL requested the European Parliament eliminate explicit mentions of online betting services, saying that references in the context of freedom of establishment were inaccurate, implying that “national regulations on illegal content in the gambling sector are often not in compliance with EU law”.

Van ‘t Veer said: “EL welcomes the support by MEPs, in particular by Rapporteur Christel Schaldemose to improve the European Commission’s proposal to create a safer digital space for everyone. This marks a milestone update in the regulation of the internet in the EU.”

The European Gaming and Betting Association has also been involved in the debate on the legislation, stressing the importance of consistency with the EU’s existing legal framework for online business laws on data, consumer protections and platform laws.

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