ECA Commits Support for its Members During COVID-19 Crisis

The European Casino Association (ECA) has committed all support to its members from the licensed land-based casino industry during the COVID-19 crisis.

ECA also reaffirmed the necessity to fight the illegal online gambling industry that operates in the EU Member States without the necessary national gambling licenses.

“In these challenging times, it is extremely important to team up and join forces to face the economic and social crisis that is happening in all sectors, while at the same time listening to our members’ concerns. The safety, health and wellbeing of our employees is of utmost importance and sharing best practices across Europe will help us to face this crisis together and define next steps to gradually return to some form of normality,” Per Jaldung, Chairman of ECA, said.

“In a matter of weeks, the licensed European casinos went from thriving entertainment venues and leading tourism centres to a complete standstill. The current closure of the 900 ECA member casinos will have an alarming economic effect on the communities in the 30 European countries in which our members operate their casinos. It is our clear duty to inform EU institutions and national governments about the impact of the illegal online gambling operations that are now targeting consumers locked down at home, while the licensed landbased casino industry is at a standstill,” Hermann Pamminger, Secretary-General of ECA, said.