The European Commission has proposed updates to the Digital Fairness Act designed to curb excessive spending on digital platforms and restrict gamification mechanics that encourage compulsive behaviour. The framework is projected to save EU consumers €13.7bn annually.
Mandatory protections include transparent pricing across all digital products and services, with dynamic pricing clearly displayed. Platforms must ban manipulative marketing, false claims and misleading messaging. Users can switch off persistent spending prompts; gambling-like features such as pay-to-win and pay-to-progress are prohibited for minors. Influencers must label paid content. Personalised advertising and pricing targeting children face restrictions, as do subscription traps—cancellations must be straightforward, and unwanted renewals from free trials are banned.
For gambling operators, the interaction with national regulation remains unsettled. The Commission preserves member states' authority over licensing and operator conduct, but the DFA's 'fairness by design' provisions could overlap with existing national rules. How these consumer protections apply to online gambling platforms—which spending prompts count as manipulative, how personalised promotions function, what engagement mechanics are permissible—will require provision-by-provision assessment. The European Parliament and Council will determine final obligations and alignment with national frameworks.
The Commission gains direct investigative and sanctioning powers in large cross-border cases, with fines up to 6% of worldwide annual turnover for non-compliance. This figure applies to enforcement action, not to individual disputed features. The agency will coordinate national consumer authorities through the CPC Network. No timetable for parliamentary and council discussions has been published.
