Irish Presidency of the Council
As of 1 January 2013, Ireland has taken over the six month rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union.  The Irish Presidency have indicated to EUROMAT that they will assess the inclusion of Gambling in their work programme following the next meeting of the Expert Group on Gambling Services in Brussels on 12 February 2013.
The EUROMAT Secretariat will continue to liaise with the Irish Presidency throughout this process, in particular with Hugh Boyle of the Department of Justice and Equality, who is responsible for gambling policy.
The Irish Presidency will end on 30 June 2013 when Lithuania will take over.  The two presidencies will work with Greece as part of the Trio to ensure a common political programme.
Ireland's EU Presidency website

4th Anti-money laundering directive proposed
The European Commission has adopted a proposal to amend the 3^rd Anti-money laundering directive.  As expected, the Commission is proposing to broaden the scope of the Directive beyond "casinos" to cover all gambling activities, thereby introducing a number of obligations for all providers of gambling services, amongst others, the establishment of internal preventive policies and procedures to ensure proper risk management and mitigation, as well as the application of customer due diligence for transactions of 2.000 Euros or more. A full analysis will be prepared following the publication of the final text, which will require agreement by both the European Parliament and the Council.
European Commission - Fourth AMLD proposal

Expert Group on Gambling Services
The European Commission's Group of Experts on gambling services met for the second time to discuss, amongst others, the Recommendations on responsible gambling advertising and protection of consumers of gambling services that the Commission expects to adopt towards the end of the year. The group is formed by the national regulators and/or competent authorities (list of members) and has the main task of assisting the Commission in the preparation of legislation or in policy definition. The next meeting is scheduled for 16 April 2013. Attached you will find the minutes of the last meeting held on 5 December 2012.
Contact the Secretariat for further information

The European Commission has responded to MEP Mario Borghezio (EFD, IT), who had requested the Commission's view on "hidden incentives to gambling" posed by the Spanish Government's "fiscal instrument", which allows for the possibility of deducting losses from gambling winnings and the effect this will have on the wider EU market.  The Commission confirmed that such matters are for the Member State to decide, but requested MEP Borghezio to provide further details on the law and respective article providing for the tax treatment described in the question to be able to fully to fully assess its compatibility with EU legislation.
MEP Borghezio's Question
Commission's Answer