European Court declines German betting constraints

8 September 2010

German gaming constraints breach European Union law, the EU's highest court has ruled.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said German laws that secure state monopolies for gaming were "unjustifiable".

The judgment could open the way for foreign wagering companies to develop an existence in Germany.

A lobby group representing gaming companies, including PartyGaming and Bwin, called the judgement a "landmark".

German authorities have actually validated wagering monopolies by saying that they assist safeguard consumers from the unfavorable results of gaming.

But the yohaig code ECJ said this was inconsistent with Germany's bet9ja promotion code yohaig and "intensive advertising" of its gambling operations.

The court stated: "The German rules on sporting bets make up a constraint on the flexibility to bet9ja's welcome offer services and the yohaig code flexibility of establishment.

"The public monopoly of the organisation of sporting bets and lottery games in Germany does not pursue the goal of combating the threats of betting in a consistent and systematic way."

Several foreign wagering business, including Britain's Happy Bet and Gibraltar's Digibet, brought a case against German local authorities in Hesse and northern Schleswig-Holstein.

The European Gaming and Betting Association welcomed the ruling.

"this promotion code is a landmark ruling which will have a decisive effect on the much-needed reform in Germany," it said in a statement.

"Other member states have actually opened or are opening their markets. They show that consumers can be much better protected in a market that is both managed and open up to competition," it stated.

However, European Lotteries, a lobby group for nationwide lotteries in 40 countries, challenged whether the judgment would open the German market.

"On the contrary," the group said in a declaration, "the court advised Germany that it needs to control more strictly the deal of harmful kinds of gambling such as gambling establishment games and gaming makers.

"The court pointed once again to the higher dangers connected with web gaming."

EGBA

European Lotteries