The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has sent out a new press release that “urges” officials to vote yes on a landmark vote that could help with harmful behaviours around gambling.
The “standard for markers of harm” is an initiative in the works since 2022, between the EGBA and European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). With the markers for harm in place, it would allow for analysis on a more granular level to weed out harmful tactics from online gambling, as well as “enabling early intervention and harm prevention”.
The markers that the EGBA wants to monitor are changes in speed, time, and duration of play. These are all pieces of data that can help inform interventions should a risk be presented for the gambler.
In the press release, the EGBA states that they’ve already gained support from other bodies around the EU. This includes the Gambling Regulators European Forum (GREF). Other individuals who back the move include “academics, gambling regulators, operators, harm prevention professionals, and other key stakeholders”.
EGBA Secretary General speaks on vote
Speaking in the press release, Maarten Haijer, Secretary General of EGBA, said:
“The vote represents a milestone moment for safer gambling in Europe.
“This EGBA-proposed initiative demonstrates precisely the kind of collaboration we need more of – bringing together stakeholders to share knowledge and experiences to create something for the common good.
“We call on national delegates to approve the important standard, which will contribute to a better understanding of problem gambling behaviour and support more effective harm prevention across Europe.”
It’s now on delegates involved with passing the idea, which, if it were to be finalized, it’s expected that CEN would launch it in early 2026. EGBA makes sure to mention that the telemetry tracking will be optional, so it would be up to the operators to integrate the standard into their business.
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