EGBA celebrates European Committee’s approval of first-ever standard for identifying gambling harm
Summary
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) welcomed an overwhelming vote in favour of the draft European standard on markers of harm at the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN). The draft — proposed and driven by EGBA — aims to create the first commonly agreed European standard for identifying risky gambling behaviours.
EGBA leaders, including Secretary General Maarten Haijer and Vasiliki Panousi, praised the collaborative multi-year process and thanked project lead Dr Maris Catania and AFNOR for coordinating the work. The voting closed on 25 September; formal CEN finalisation (including translations and procedural steps) is expected to complete by early 2026, after which the standard will be available for voluntary adoption by regulators and operators across Europe.
Key Points
- An overwhelming majority of national standardisation bodies voted in favour of the draft European standard on markers of gambling harm.
- The standard was proposed and driven by EGBA and coordinated in CEN with AFNOR as Secretariat and Dr Maris Catania as project leader.
- It will be the first commonly agreed European standard to identify risky gambling behaviour and is intended as a building block for harm prevention.
- The CEN finalisation process (translations and formal procedures) follows the vote and can take several months; publication is expected early 2026.
- Once published, adoption of the standard will be voluntary for regulators and operators but offers a common benchmark for player protection across Europe.
Why should I read this?
Quick version: this is a proper step forward for player protection in Europe. If you work in regulation, operator compliance, player safety or tech that detects risky play, this standard will matter — it sets a common language and expectations. Read on so you know the timeline and who to watch (EGBA, AFNOR, CEN) as the standard moves to publication.
Author note (style)
Punchy: this isn’t just another draft — it’s the sector agreeing on a shared baseline for spotting harm. If you care about harmonised safeguards or compliance across markets, the details here are worth a look.
Context and relevance
Why it matters: fragmentation in how gambling harm is identified has made cross-border regulation and consistent operator practices difficult. A European standard provides a common framework that can be referenced by national regulators, operators and harm-prevention services, improving comparability and potentially speeding implementation of consistent safeguards.
Timing and next steps: the vote clears a major hurdle, but the publication process at CEN (translations, formal checks) may take until early 2026. After publication the standard will be available for voluntary adoption — expect regulators and large operators to consider it quickly if they want consistent, evidence-based markers across jurisdictions.
