European Regulators Address Online Gaming Challenges in Rome

The Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ), under the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and Agenda 2030, participated on Friday, 22 May in Rome in a working session alongside regulators from Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Portugal, and the United Kingdom to analyze some of the key regulatory challenges currently facing the European gaming sector.

The meeting, organized by the Italian authorities, brought together international representatives in various technical sessions addressing issues such as match-fixing, predictive markets, gambling advertising, payment methods, and the fight against illegal markets.

Predictive Markets and New Regulatory Challenges

One of the central topics was the analysis of so-called “predictive markets” or “cross-betting,” digital platforms where users buy and sell shares on the outcome of future events, generating prices that reflect the probability of those events occurring.

Unlike traditional betting, in these markets users trade with each other while the platform acts as an intermediary. These systems are currently used to predict election results, sports outcomes, economic indicators, or weather phenomena, and they pose new legal and regulatory challenges for national authorities.

During the session, European regulators discussed how these models fit within different national legal frameworks and possible regulatory responses to this expanding digital phenomenon.

Cooperation Against Illegal Gambling

The meeting also advanced international cooperation against illegal gambling, one of the main challenges shared by European regulators. Discussions included implementing information-sharing mechanisms between jurisdictions, approved at the previous meeting in Madrid, and ways to evaluate the impact of regulatory measures adopted by each country.

Advertising and Player Protection

Sessions also covered gambling advertising regulations and the difficulties faced in controlling certain indirect forms of promotion, especially through affiliate sites or odds comparison platforms.

Additionally, regulators debated payment systems used in both land-based and online gambling, regulatory differences between the two channels, and risk mitigation measures linked to fraud prevention, money laundering, and player protection.

The DGOJ’s participation in this international meeting reinforces its commitment to cooperation among European countries. While gambling regulations remain national, many digital challenges have a global scope. Sharing knowledge, information, and experiences among European authorities enables more effective and coordinated regulatory responses and the adoption of stronger global measures.