EGBA Calls for Digital Fairness Act to Align With Gambling Rules

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) on November 12, 2026 called for the proposed Digital Fairness Act to align with national gambling frameworks and existing EU law, warning that duplicated or conflicting obligations could create legal uncertainty without improving consumer protection.

The response came one day after the European Commission adopted the Digital Fairness Act and a Simplification Directive on November 11, 2026. Together with a revision of the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, they form a Consumer Package to update EU consumer law and enforcement. The proposed Act addresses dark patterns, addictive design, practices encouraging overspending, unfair personalisation targeting vulnerabilities, influencer-marketing problems, misleading pricing and obstacles to cancelling online contracts. Consumer-facing measures include an option to switch off addictive design features such as persistent prompts, disclosure of influencers’ commercial content, restrictions on unfair personalised advertising and prices targeting minors, and easier cancellation of digital contracts and subscriptions.

EGBA said it shares the Commission’s objectives of protecting minors, tackling misleading commercial practices and increasing transparency in the digital environment. It wants new requirements to be proportionate, directed at clearly identified regulatory gaps and coherent with existing EU consumer-protection rules. Its support for those goals leaves the fit between new EU-wide duties and existing regulation as the central issue in its response.

Existing Gambling Safeguards

Online gambling is already covered by extensive national legislation on advertising, consumer protection, age verification, prevention of underage gambling and safer-gambling measures. EGBA said its members often exceed those legal requirements through pan-European self-regulatory initiatives, including industry codes covering responsible advertising and responsible influencer marketing. Those initiatives cover subject matter also addressed by the proposal’s influencer-disclosure and minor-protection measures, giving the association a concrete reason to examine whether additional provisions would complement or duplicate existing controls.

“More regulation does not automatically mean better consumer protection,” said Pierre Tournier, EGBA’s interim secretary general. “The DFA must build on existing national and EU safeguards, avoid duplicating obligations and provide legal certainty for businesses.”

Enforcement Against Illegal Gambling

The association also linked the Consumer Package’s effectiveness to enforcement beyond licensed operators. Tournier said stronger consumer protection cannot stop with regulated companies because illegal gambling websites operate outside the law, disregard player-protection standards and expose consumers to serious risks. Its requested remedies include stronger cross-border cooperation and action against those services, including cooperation with online platforms and payment service providers, so consumers are protected in practice.

EGBA will now assess the proposals in detail and engage with the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission throughout the legislative process. Its stated priorities set three connected tests for that scrutiny: new rules should address identified gaps, avoid conflict with existing safeguards, and be accompanied by practical action against illegal services that do not follow player-protection standards.