In a new manifesto, European Lotteries calls for increased EU financing.

In preparation for the inauguration of the new European Parliament and the European Commission later this year, European Lotteries (EL) has released its Manifesto.

In the text, it is emphasised how important lotteries are to Europe's social fabric—they are not just games of chance.

Since the first lottery was held in Bruges in 1441, according to EL, lotteries have played a crucial role in raising public funds. They continue to promote societal advantages and are common in all EU member states.

This history is acknowledged in the Manifesto, which also highlights the fact that lottery revenue would save European society an annual €22 billion ($23.81 billion) in poverty.

EL therefore urges EU legislators to preserve national lotteries' distinctive form, guaranteeing their continuous contribution to the common good.

The Manifesto emphasises how important it is that EU institutions acknowledge the traditional and historical foundations of national lotteries and reiterate their cultural and socioeconomic significance.

Along with supporting the Digital Services Act's idea of trustworthy flaggers to combat illicit online content, EL also emphasises the significance of differentiating between legal and illegal gaming operators and pushes for standard legality of gambling activities online and offline.

Furthermore, EL advocates for sticking with the current strategy of exempting the gaming industry from particular EU laws, which enables Member States to successfully meet local demands and guarantee high standards of consumer protection.

In order to ensure that consumers are directed towards safe and legal offerings, the Manifesto also supports a risk-based approach to advertising, in which lottery games with higher levels of risk are subject to harsher rules than those with lower levels of risk.

To conclude, EL maintains that in order to preserve their relationship with investors and insurers, any future EU talks on environmental and social taxonomy must take into account the special features of lotteries.