The "European State Lotteries and Toto Association" (EL) is an independent European association composed of State Lottery and Toto companies established in Europe.
The former European Association of State Lotteries and Lottos was founded on November 29, 1983 in Montreux, Switzerland.
EL is made up of 47 State Lotteries and Lottos which are regular members (State Lotteries) as well as of 7 regular observer members (Lotteries) and 38 associate members (Lottery suppliers).

Comment by the European Lotteries to the ECJ Ruling
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (July 9, 2010) -- European Lotteries association welcomed the ruling in which the European Court of Justice confirmed that the prohibition the promotion [advertising] of gambling organised on the Internet by private operators residing in other Member States is consistent with Community law......Subscribers

EL Report: Highest EU Court Rules Sweden Can Ban Gambling Ads By Private, For-Profit Operators From Abroad
LUXEMBOURG / BRUSSELS (July 8, 2010) - This morning the Court of Justice of the EU has dealt another serious blow to the commercial online gambling industry and validated the Swedish state monopoly for gaming and betting..................Subscribers

European Commission to Launch Infringement Proceedings Against Member States
Commission Gets Tough Over Services Failings
BRUSELLS, Belgium (February 4, 2010) -- The European Commission will launch infringement proceedings against several member states for failing properly to implement EU legislation to liberalise the market in services.......................Subscribers

Ladbrokes and Betfair Set to Lose Challenge to Dutch Gambling Laws
Advocate-General Dismisses Private Operators
LUXEMBOURG / BRUSSELS (December 17, 2009) – This morning the European Court of Justice’s Advocate General published his opinions in two Dutch gambling cases opposing the commercial online gambling operators Ladbrokes and Betfair to, inter alia , Dutch licence holder De Lotto , a member of European Lotteries (EL ).........................Subscribers

Mifal Hapais Awarded the International Social Responsibility Standard
ISRAEL (November 30, 2009) -- The European Lottery Association (EL) and the World Lottery Association (WLA) for lottery operations have developed an international social responsibility standard for lottery operations, which includes 10 criteria according to which all the lottery operations that are members in the association must meet....................Subscribers

Lottery Experts Assess Industry in Malta Meeting
MALTA (September 18, 2009) -- Topics such as new technology trends, corporate social responsibility, legal matters, the future of lotteries and loyalty programmes, marketing and communications were discussed at the 12th European Lotteries University held in Malta.................Subscribers

Highest EU Court: State Monopoly For Internet Gambling Compliant With EU Law
LUXEMBOURG / BRUSSELS (September 8, 2009) – Today the European Court of Justice has issued its much awaited ruling on the case (C-42/07) opposing the Portuguese Professional Football League ‘Liga Portuguesa’ and commercial online operator bwin against the Portuguese national lottery..................Subscribers

Heading for the EL 2011 Congress in Helsinki
VANTAA, Finland (July 1, 2009) -- We thank everybody for visiting the Northern Light booth in Istanbul and answering the EL 2011 Query. We got a total of 140 replies. Each respondent contributed valuably to the preparation of the EL 2011 in Helsinki. We are still eager to hear your ideas for EL 2011. Please visit the new Northern Light site and take the query, if you have not done so yet....................Subscribers

Familiar Faces – EL 2009 Istanbul Interviews
HELSINKI, Finland (June 25, 2009) -- The EL 2011 Congress will be all about getting together and networking. Our Northern Light reporters made a series of interviews in Istanbul and took pictures of the Istanbul atmosphere. Meet Ms. Olivia Gillibrand, Ms. Gayle Kennedy, Ms. Birgitta Kervinen and Mr. Baruch Dagon.....................Subscribers

Lottomatica Becomes First Italian Operator to Obtain Certification of Compliance to International Responsible Gaming Standards
ROME, Italy (June 19, 2009) -Lottomatica is the first Italian operator to receive certification of compliance with the responsible gaming standards established by the European Lotteries Association (EL).........................Subscribers

State Lotteries Endorse Swedish EU Presidency’s Decision to Continue Council Discussions on Gambling
Council is the appropriate forum to discuss EU gambling policy
European Lotteries urges European Commission to contribute to a political solution with the Member States
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (June 16, 2009) -- European Lotteries (EL) welcomes the Swedish Government’s announcement to continue the discussions on gambling and betting in the Council, the body representing the 27 Member States. This was announced today at a gambling conference in Prague, organised by the European Law Academy in cooperation with the Czech Presidency of the EU..........................Subscribers

State Lotteries Support European Parliament and EU Council in Their Pursuit of a Sustainable Gambling Policy
-- EL General Assembly Elects New Executive Committee, Friedrich Stickler as New President, Dr. Winfried Wortmann as new Honorary President
-- EL further improves its betting fraud monitoring system
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (June 12, 2009) -- At its General Assembly on 11 June in Istanbul, the European association of state lotteries and sports betting operators (European Lotteries, EL) elected the members of its Executive Committee for the period from 2009 to 2011 and Friedrich Stickler as its new President. He follows Dr Winfried Wortmann, who did not run again after two terms in office (2005-2009) and who was elected as Honorary President, in appreciation of his numerous achievements, not least the increase of the association’s influence in Brussels............................Subscribers

Svenska Spel First To Meet European Standard
VISBY, Sweden (May 15, 2009) -- European Lotteries, the industry organisation for State-regulated lotteries and gaming companies in Europe, has created a standard for got responsible gambling among its members........................Subscribers

Welcome to Veikkaus' EL Seminar 2011 Stand in Istanbul
VANTAA, Finland (May 11, 2009) -- The preparations for the EL Seminar 2011 are already in full swing in Finland. Veikkaus and Finland will present the seminar theme and website at this year's EL Congress in Istanbul.
If you are going to participate in the EL Congress in Istanbul, you are warmly welcome to Veikkaus' stand number 13. We would be very glad to hear about your wishes concerning the topics and programme of the upcoming seminar. See you in Istanbul!
CONTACT: Veikkaus Oy Communications, Tel: +35820 750 750, Fax: +35820 750 7145, Email: tiedotus@veikkaus.fi

French Government Proposes An Online Gambling Law
European Lotteries Welcomes French Move Against Uncontrolled Online Gambling
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (March 25, 2009) -- Today, the French government has adopted an online gambling draft law, providing for a strictly controlled opening of the market in the fields of online sports betting, online horserace betting and online poker in France. Online casino games and online slot-machine style games will...................Subscribers

European Parliament Upholds the Right of Member States to Control Gambling and Sports Betting
BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 24, 2009) - European Parliament upholds the right of member states to control gambling and sports betting. But the outcome comes as a setback to those who are pressing for EU-wide liberalisation of the gambling industry.............Subscribers

Parliament to Side With State Lotteries; Gambling Not a Commodity Like Others
STRASBOURG, France (March 11, 2009) -- MEPs yesterday (10 March) overwhelmingly rejected the idea of creating an EU single market for online gambling, backing member states' right to decide on market liberalisation....................Subscribers

European Lotteries Welcomes European Parliament Call For a Political Solution Founded on Respect of National Legislation and Involvement of All the Social Stakeholders
STRASBOURG / BRUSSELS (March, 10, 2009) - Today the European Parliament adopted by an overwhelming majority a political resolution on online gambling, also known as the Schaldemose report.............Subscribers

Commission Urged to Clarify Gambling's EU Legal Status
BRUSSELS, Belgium (March 4, 2009) -- The European Parliament and the EU Council of Ministers called on the European Commission yesterday (3 March) to initiate a dialogue in view of reaching political agreement on the legal status of gambling in Europe..................Subscribers

EL/WLA MARKETING SEMINAR -- NEW COLOURS FOR ADVERTISING -- LONDON JAN 28 – 30 2009................Subscribers

Report -- Seminar on Responsible Gaming – The Business Case
BRUSSELS 12-14 November 2008
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (November 18, 2008) -- This joint EL-WLA Seminar, hosted by the Belgian National Lottery and attended by 75 lottery professionals from 36 EL Member Lotteries, was universally acknowledged as an excellent event, which advanced the knowledge of all those present and provided a practical base from which further progress could be made with implementing Responsible Gaming (RG) Standards..............Subscribers

Federal Constitutional Court Approves German Gambling Regulation
STUTTGART, Germany (October 30, 2008) -- With its ruling of 14 October 2008 (Az. 1 BvR 928/08), the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) has now declared all essential points of the new Interstate Gambling Treaty to be constitutional and has not accepted a constitutional complaint from a commercial gambling operator for ruling. In addition..........Subscribers

ECJ/Advocate-General: Gambling Not Subject to Rules of the EU Internal Market
LUXEMBOURG / BRUSSELS (October 14, 2008) -- Today the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s Advocate-General Yves Bot has presented his opinion in a gambling case referred to the ECJ by a Portuguese court (Case C-42/07). Central to the case is the question whether Community law is contradictory to a national lottery and betting monopoly which extends to the whole national territory including the internet................Subscribers

The European Lottery University Edition 11 Held In Dubrovnik – Croatia August 31 - September 5, 2008
The lottery business is simple and yet complex. The formula to develop a successful lottery management training program is thus both simple and complex. Simple because, basically, it would include conceptual topics on the major business functions, challenges and issues and, complex, because it needs to be updated, adapted and................Subscribers

European Lotteries Welcomes French Move Against Uncontrolled Online Gambling
BRUSSELS, Belgium (June 6, 2008) -- The President of European Lotteries, Dr Winfried Wortmann, noted with interest comments made today in a press conference in Paris by French Budget Minister Eric Woerth concerning the planned regulation of commercial internet gambling operators in France..............Subscribers

Veikkaus to Host the EL 2011 Congress of the European Gaming Organizations
VEIKKAUS, Finland (May 13, 2008) -- The member lotteries of EL (European Lotteries) and suppliers to the gaming industry will convene in a gaming companies’ congress in Helsinki in June 2011.
Veikkaus was elected to host the congress in last summer’s EL Congress in Budapest. Although there is still plenty of time till the event, we have already started the arrangements.
We are awaiting hundreds of European specialists and representatives of the field to join us for the event.
SOURCE: Veikkaus eNews 2/2008.
CONTACT: Veikkaus Oy Communications, Tel: +35820 750 750, Fax: +35820 750 7145, Email: tiedotus@veikkaus.fi.

European Parliament Warns of Gambling Liberalisation
BRUSSELS, Belgium (May 8, 2008 – Today the European Parliament’s plenary has adopted a resolution on the European Commission’s July 2007 strategy paper (“White Paper”) on Sport, in which it voices its concern at a possible deregulation of national gambling markets..................Subscribers

Joint EL/WLA Seminar March 18 – 20 2008
Security is a key ingredient of a sound strategic plan regardless of the size of an organisation. Physical, logical, technical, network, architecture, business continuity, data integrity, money laundering, human errors, these are all but a few challenges facing the organisation.................Subscribers

UEFA to Improve Monitoring of Suspicious Bets
NYON, Switzerland (February 21, 2008) -- The Union Européenne de Football Association or Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) met with several leaders of the European betting industry .................Subscribers

EL/WLA Marketing Seminar -- The POS – Are We At A Crossroads?
London, January 23 – 25, 2008
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (February 4, 2008) -- “The POS – Are we at a Crossroads?” thus was the title and the theme of the first joint EL/WLA seminar of 2008................Subscribers

New German Inter-State Treaty on Gambling Strictly Follows Guidelines Given By German Federal Constitutional Court and European Court of Justice / No “Final Warning” for Germany
BRUSSELS, Belgium (January 31, 2008 – Today the European Commission has announced that it has launched infringement proceedings against Germany concerning the new German Inter-State Treaty on Gambling. Dr. Winfried Wortmann, President of European Lotteries and Managing Director of the Westdeutsche Lotterie comments on this decision as follows...............Subscribers

UEFA/Betting Manipulations – Strict Government Control Over Sports Betting Must Be Preserved
BRUSSELS, Belgium (December 3, 2007) -- Today the President of European Lotteries (EL), Dr. Winfried Wortmann, has called on the European Union to take action against betting manipulations in football and other sports, supporting the call for EU action made by UEFA President Michel Platini this weekend.................Read the full story at: Vol.41 No.12

Report -- EL Sports Betting Seminar From September 11 To 14 In Copenhagen, Denmark
Oddset, the lottery version of fixed odds betting, was launched in Sweden in 1986 to meet the illegal competition not from Internet bookmakers but from telephone and fax bookmakers! Today, at the age of 21, the game appears stronger than ever and does well in the competition with non-nationally licensed bookmakers..............................Read the full story at: Vol.40 No.13

The Tenth European Lottery University Held In Dublin – Ireland, September 2 – 7, 2007
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (September 9, 2007) -- When the European Lottery University (ELU) program was started, no one would have imagined that it would reach the tenth year mark. After Trinity College (Dublin 1998), Heriot-Watt University (Edinbourgh 1999), Universidad de Salamanca (Spain 2000), Montpellier (France 2001), University of Salerno (Italy 2002), the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (Spain 2003), the University of Siena, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the University of Zadar – Croatia, it was only befitting that the tenth edition of ELU be held back in Dublin, where it all started...............................Read the full story at: Vol.40 No.12

“View of the Administration, Not of the Judge” – European Lotteries Confident of Outcome of Infringement Proceedings in the Gambling Sector
BRUSSELS, Belgium (June 27, 2007) – Today the European Commission decided to proceed with the infringement proceedings against Sweden and France (both launched last year) and to open a new infringement case against Greece...........................Subscribers

German Lottery Hits Jackpot with Marathon
German Lottery Relies on Marathon’s Continuous Availability to Ensure Continued Running of the Draw
BERKSHIRE, UK (June 5, 2007 – The German Lottery, Deutsche Klassenlotterie, today announces the implementation of Marathon Technologies’ everRun FT to ensure players’ numbers are successfully and continually collected from lottery retail outlets even through system failures. Marathon partner, Diventus completed the installation..................................Read the full story at: Vol.39 No.11

No Obligation To Open Gambling Markets, Says European Court
BRUSSELS (May 30, 2007) – Today the Court of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in Luxemburg once again denied a commercial gambling operator the right to access the gambling markets of a member state of the European Economic Area (EEA). .....................................Subscribers

Report -- European Lotteries General Assembly in Budapest
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (May 29, 2007) -- During its bi-annual Congress held in Budapest from May 21 to May 24, the European Lotteries Association’s (EL) General Assembly unanimously reconfirmed the outgoing President, Doctor Winfried Wortmann, Managing Director of Westdeutsche Lotterie in Münster/Germany as President of the European Lotteries for a new mandate of 2 years................................Read the full story at: Vol.39 No.10

EL - EFTA Court Upholds Norwegian Gambling Monopoly
“State Monopoly Better at Fighting Gambling Addiction Than Commercial Operator”
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (March 14, 2007) -- The Court of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) today upheld Norway’s monopoly for gaming machines, stating that the Norwegian government has demonstrated that a state-owned monopoly operator will tend to accommodate legitimate concerns of fighting gambling addiction better than a commercial operator.............................Subscribers

Highest EU Court Denies Unibet Instant Market Access in Sweden
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (March 13, 2007) -- The European Court of Justice (ECJ) today rejected the claim of private internet gambling operator Unibet for instant access to a Member State’s market, Sweden. Unibet, as a result, must wait for a decision in the main procedure pending with Swedish courts..................................Subscribers

European Lotteries Supports Norway’s Arguments For State Monopoly For Gaming Machine Market
BRUSSELS (November 9, 2006) --  European Lotteries supports the arguments advanced by the Kingdom of Norway before the EFTA Court, supported also by the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Iceland, defending itself against allegations made by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA)..............................Subscribers

Report: EL European Legal Affairs Seminar
THESSALONIKI, Greece (November 2, 2006) -- Extremely interesting has been the European Legal Affairs Seminar of the European Lotteries, which has been held on 25-27 October 2006 in Thessaloniki and has been hosted by OPAP S.A...............................Subscribers

Joint EL/WLA Marketing Seminar
Hosted by: The National Lottery Camelot London / UK 24-26 January 2007
Lotto Games: Are we at a cross-roads?
Lotto and Number Games remain an important source of revenue for the Lotteries despite the occasional hiccup, the occasional downturn. Constant innovation, creativity and market research extend the life of a product line.................................Subscribers

The case for State Lotteries: A Report for the European Lotteries Association by London Economics
Aggressive Growth In Unregulated Gambling Threatening European Society:
State Lotteries Warn Of Dangers Of Unregulated Gambling And Publish Independent Study Of Sector
BRUSSELS (October 18, 2006) -- European Lotteries  today published an independent study on the EU’s gambling sector, undertaken by independent researchers, London Economics and warned of the dangers of unregulated gambling in Europe..................................Subscribers

European Lotteries Confident of Outcome of Infringement Proceedings Against France And Austria in The Gambling Sector, Launched Today
BRUSSELS, Belgium (October 12, 2006) -- European Lotteries (EL) is confident that the French and Austrian governments will clarify the regulatory validity surrounding gambling in their respective jurisdictions................................Subscribers

EL Seminar on Responsible Gaming and European Challenges
Report by: Ray Bates, Seminar Moderator
PARIS, France 4-6 October 2006
By the very nature of our activities, State Lottery operators have always had a strong commitment to the principles of corporate social responsibility. However, the broad views coming from the EL Seminar on Responsible Gaming (RG) were that, in the new commercial and political landscape, it is vital that State Lottery operators must not only act responsibly but be seen to be operating in a socially responsible way..................................Subscribers

EU Member States Allowed To Restrict Gambling Activities To Protect Public Order And Prevent Crime
BRUSSELS (September 20, 2006) -- In the light of misleading statements made by for-profit gambling operators in connection with the arrests of two Bwin executives by French police and the ensuing debate on gambling in the European Union, European Lotteries would like to clarify its views on the matter...........................Subscribers

Report: The Ninth ELU Held in Zadar /CroatiaLAUSANNE, Switzerland (September 07 2006) -- Croatia was selected as the venue for the ninth edition of the European Lottery University (ELU). In such an illustrious environment, forty-seven managers (the highest number for an ELU), representing some twenty-five European lottery and gaming organizations, gathered for five days to attend this year’s European Lottery University (ELU)............Subscribers

Decision Of The Federal Cartel Office Has Torpedoed The National Task Of The German Lotto und Totoblock (DLTB)
POTSDAM, Germany (August 28, 2006) -- The German Lotto und Totoblock companies reject the reproaches and the resulting prohibiting decisions by the Federal Cartel Office as..............Subscribers

Market Mechanisms Cannot and Should Not Apply to Gambling
Article By: Mr. Tjeerd Veenstra, Legal Spokesman, European Lotteries.
The following article was written by Mr. Tjeerd Veenstra, Director and Member of the Executive Board, DE LOTTO, and Legal Spokesman for the European State Lotteries and Toto Association (EL), in reply to.............Subscribers

EU Member States Adopt Common Position on Services Directive
BRUSSELS (July 24, 2006) -- Today the Council of the European Union, the legislative body in which the governments of the 25 EU Member States are represented, has decided to.......................Subscribers

EL Interactive Gaming Seminar Report
LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (June 9, 2006) -- The 2006 Interactive Gaming Seminar, organized by the EL New Media Working Group and the Secretary General of the European State Lotteries and Toto Association, and hosted by Loterija Slovenije, was held in Ljubljana from May 31st to June 1st 2006............Read the full story at: Vol.35 No.11

German Lotto and Toto Bloc Reject the Reproaches of the Anti-Cartel Office
POTSDAM, Germany (May 30, 2006) – The companies making up the German Lotto and Totoblock (DLTB) reject the reproaches levelled by the Federal Anti-Cartel Office as being lacking in substance. .......Subscribers

EL Seminar Report - INDUSTRY DAYS 2006 Bucharest
Article By: Gilbert Rehayem
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (May 15, 2006) -- Loteria Romana acted as host for the second edition of Industry Days, Industry Days 2006 - Bucharest May 10 – 12, 2006..............Subscribers

EL Report on German Constitutional Court Decision on Sports Betting in Bavaria
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (March 28, 2006) -- Today in Karlsruhe, the German constitutional court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) in a long awaited ruling confirmed the view expressed in earlier statements of the Euopean Court .........Subscribers

Mixed Reaction to European Parliament Vote
EUROPE (February 23, 2006) -- The following is a summary of some of the key stakeholders' reaction to European Parliament Services Directive Vote .............Subscribers

Joint EL/WLA Marketing Seminar “Instant Gaming: the Next Generation” Report
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (February 2006) --Offered jointly by EL and WLA, the first Marketing Seminar of the year has become a tradition of excellence and a sought-after source of up-to-date information and valuable networking .............Subscribers