Why Brussels cannot regulate gambling across the EU
- Mar 26
- 1 min read
My latest piece published by SiGMA World sets out why a harmonised European framework for gambling is unlikely.
The legal reality is that gambling has never sat comfortably within EU competence, and there is little indication that will change. National governments retain control, reinforced by treaty principles and consistently upheld by the courts.
More importantly, gambling is not like other sectors that have been successfully harmonised. It is tied to public policy, taxation, and social attitudes that vary materially between Member States.
Attempts to standardise it tend to run into those differences almost immediately.
That does not mean Europe stands still. Cooperation exists, and in some areas it works well, but it happens through alignment and information sharing, not centralisation.
If anything, the direction of travel is that regulation will remain national, enforcement will continue to tighten, and cross-border friction will persist.
