European gambling regulators have met in Rome on May 22nd, to discuss prediction markets, illegal gambling, advertising controls and payment risks as authorities across the continent respond to new pressure in the online gambling sector.
Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling took part in the meeting alongside gambling regulators from Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Portugal and the UK. The agenda focused on several of the main challenges facing European regulators, including match-fixing, prediction markets, gambling advertising, payment methods and cross-border enforcement against illegal operators.
Regulators discussed how prediction market products fit within national legal systems and what regulatory responses may be needed as prediction markets expand across digital channels. This discussion comes at a time of growing international scrutiny of prediction market operators and underlines the extent to which prediction markets have moved onto the European regulatory agenda.
The Rome meeting also advanced cooperation against illegal gambling. Regulators discussed information-sharing mechanisms between jurisdictions, following earlier work agreed at a previous meeting in Madrid, as well as ways to assess the impact of enforcement measures adopted by each country.
Advertising was another theme, with authorities examining difficulties in controlling indirect promotion, particularly through affiliate websites, odds comparison platforms and other digital channels that can blur the line between information, marketing and customer acquisition.
Regulators also discussed payment systems used across land-based and online gambling, including differences between channels and risk mitigation measures linked to fraud prevention, anti-money laundering and player protection. While individual countries continue to apply their own gambling laws, regulators are increasingly looking for coordinated responses to digital products, illegal operators and advertising models that operate across borders.
