Europe has “real concerns” over the decision by German state Schleswig-Holstein to abolish their iGaming regime to fall in line with the German State Treaty on gambling. The European Commission’s detailed opinion confirms the new regime is a “real concern” and it raises further doubt over the “compliance and consistency” of the German State Treaty with European Union Law.
Schleswig-Holstein’s realignment with the other 15 Lander means they’re part of a State Treaty that is being managed in the state of Hesse. 100 firms have already sent in applications for the 20 online betting licences that allow just sports betting and nothing else. There was no detailed criteria published on how the licences will be allocated and it has left firms to wonder how close or far they are from being given a licence. The deadline for applications has also twice been extended and currently stands at January 21, 2013.
The European Gaming and Betting Association have been one organization railing against the German regime for some time, and secretary general Sigrid Ligne added: “The European Commission’s detailed opinion against Schleswig-Holstein sends a clear message that Member States are no longer going to be allowed to impose gaming regulations that fail to meet the tests set by the CJEU. The German states cannot continue to ignore the warnings coming from Brussels and the growing criticism evidenced by the multiplication of complaints and litigation even before the new legislation is introduced.
“This creates an extreme level of legal uncertainty which is a damaging for all parties and German consumers in particular. At this stage, only the EC can restore legal security by acting on the many complaints it has received, not only against Germany, but also against Greece, Belgium and several other Member States.”
Schleswig-Holstein’s decision to join up with their fellow German states signals an almost complete reversal of the state’s previous regime. Under that companies could apply for a licence covering sports betting as well as other types of online games. There are already 15 companies holding licences in the state and it comes after three more were issued just last week. Another 23 operators are on the waiting list and the amount of interest in both this, and the State Treaty, goes to show how high a regard companies hold the country.
The detailed opinion issued by the EC has the backing of both the United Kingdom and Malta with the latter even adding their own detailed comments. If they end up using the State Treaty there will be serious questions asked of the EU and their plan to implement fair gambling industry rules across all their members.
