The Digital Fairness Act: Implications For The IGaming Industry

The European Commission is preparing a major reform of consumer protection rules in the digital environment. Its recent Digital Fairness Fitness Check concluded that existing EU law is not sufficiently effective when it comes to addressing manipulative online practices. The proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA), now in the call for evidence stage, is expected to introduce stronger safeguards against practices which encourage dark patterns in online interfaces. While the DFA will affect multiple sectors, the iGaming industry is likely to be among the most affected.

At the core of the DFA is a determination to tackle such dark patterns, which are design choices that steer consumers towards decisions they may not otherwise have taken. In iGaming, such practices may include messages that make players doubt their decisions (e.g. asking questions like 'are you sure you want to miss out on this promotion?' after attempting to end the game), countdown timers on promotional