European Court declines German gambling constraints

8 September 2010

German gambling constraints breach European Union law, the EU's greatest court has actually ruled.

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

The judgment could open the method for foreign betting companies to establish a presence in Germany.

A lobby group representing betting firms, consisting of PartyGaming and Bwin, called the judgement a "landmark".

German authorities have justified betting monopolies by stating that they help safeguard consumers from the unfavorable impacts of gaming.

But the ECJ stated this promotion code was irregular with Germany's yohaig promotion code and "extensive advertising" of its gambling operations.

The court said: "The German rules on sporting bets make up a constraint on the freedom to bet9ja's welcome offer services and the freedom of facility.

"The public monopoly of the organisation of sporting bets and lottery games in Germany does not pursue the objective of combating the risks of gaming in a consistent and organized manner."

Several foreign betting business, consisting of Britain's Happy Bet and Gibraltar's Digibet, brought a case versus German regional authorities in Hesse and northern Schleswig-Holstein.

the yohaig code European Gaming and Betting Association welcomed the ruling.

"this promotion code is a landmark ruling which will have a definitive impact on the much-needed reform in Germany," it stated in a statement.

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

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

"On the contrary," the group said in a declaration, "the court reminded Germany that it needs to manage more strictly the bet9ja's welcome offer of hazardous forms of gambling such as gambling establishment games and gaming machines.

"The court pointed again to the greater risks associated with web gaming."

EGBA

European Lotteries