DGOJ director joins SiGMA World panel on illegal gambling in Europe

DGOJ director general Mikel Arana took part in a panel discussion at SiGMA World Roma, held at Fiera Roma, on the challenges of tackling illegal gambling in Europe, according to a DGOJ statement. The panel, titled "Europe's Enforcement Era: Regulation Is Winning But At What Cost?", brought together representatives of the regulators of Spain, Cyprus, Greece and the Czech Republic. The DGOJ said the session examined how national rules are applied and the difficulties authorities face in acting against unlicensed operators.

Discussion covered the blocking of illegal pages, the use of payment methods, activity on social media and mirror domains, the DGOJ said. The panel also addressed prediction markets and the difficulty of determining when their products should be considered gambling activity. Arana discussed cooperation between regulators, payment service providers, digital platforms and licensed operators to detect and counter unauthorised offerings, according to the statement. The statement also cited the difficulty of pursuing operators that offer gambling in one country from other territories, which it said complicates regulators' work.

The DGOJ said the exchange highlighted the importance of cooperation between authorities and with other actors, including payment service providers and digital platforms, to improve the effectiveness of measures against the illegal market. Another theme was the contribution the legal industry can make to the authorities' work, with possible routes of collaboration examined, the statement said. The DGOJ said its participation forms part of its supervision of the state online gambling market and its commitment to effective application of the regulatory framework.