Key Vote Launches EU Debate on Problem Gambling - 2009-03-10

Euro MP Arlene McCarthy, Labour Chair of the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, welcomed today's vote by the Parliament in Strasbourg backing the report she initiated on gambling integrity.

Arlene said "I initiated this report to raise the concerns of sports fans and the problem of tackling the threat of match fixing, fraud and of harm to vulnerable consumers in a growing hi-tech gambling market."

Arlene added "match fixing is as old as sporting matches, but new technology opens up new risks for fraud alongside the positive opportunities it presents. Sporting bodies have described it as potentially a bigger threat than drugs in sport. Sport fans expect to see honest games, and I support tough Europe-wide action against all forms of match fixing and sport betting fraud."

Conservative Euro MPs put forward an alternative report which was overwhelmingly rejected by Euro MPs. Their report, launched alongside gambling industry representatives, emphasised internal market freedoms to provide services and removed many concerns raised with Euro MPs during their work on this report. Commenting, Arlene said:

"We agreed in discussions on the Services Directive that gambling was not like other sectors. EU Member States have the right to set their own laws on gambling. No Member State has the right to set hypocritical laws that discriminate in favour of domestic and Government owned operators but we cannot ignore genuine concerns to ensure the integrity of gambling services."

NOTE TO EDITORS:

The Schaldemose report on the integrity of online gambling was adopted in today's vote by the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Euro MPs approved the report by 544 to 36 votes.

The report sets out the need for Member States in the European Union to regulate their gambling markets to:

• protect consumers from crime and fraud
• to protect other activities such as sporting events from integrity risks such as match fixing, and
• to protect in particular vulnerable consumers including children.

The report is strongly backed by all UK sporting bodies who are seriously concerned about the potential threat of match fixing.

The Gambling Commission has received 47 notifications of irregular betting patterns, which led to bets being declared void, in the last 17 months. One example from Arlene's constituency involved Accrington Stanley in their May 2008 League Two match against Bury. High-street bookmakers including William Hill and Coral closed their books after identifying irregular cash bets on Bury beating Accrington Stanley. An investigation by the Football Association is ongoing.

British Conservative Euro MPs submitted an alternative resolution saying that gambling should be seen as a European internal market issue and suggesting concerns of addiction and other gambling related problems are unproven. The Tory report was overwhelmingly rejected by the Parliament.

For more information please call the European Parliamentary Labour Party press officer, Silke Thomson on +32 479 790 053 or contact Suzanne Richards in Arlene's office on 0161 909 5107 or 07811 175617 or email suzanne.richards@easynet.co.uk

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