Is Online Gambling Legal In Germany
- German court upholds online lottery betting ban 27 August 2019 The Higher Regional Court of Koblenz in the state of Rheinland-Pfalz has confirmed an earlier ruling by the German city’s lower court that so-called “secondary lotteries”, in which consumers bet on lottery draw results, may not be offered online in the country.
- Germany’s 16 states announced last month that German-facing online gambling operators wouldn’t face legal punishment for offering online casino products, provided they implemented the rules of.
Good news for online gamblers in Germany, as the Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) recently ruled against the country's restrictive online gaming laws.
The court case involved the country's online sports-betting laws, however, it is believed by advocates that the logic and legal arguments should be able to be applied to overturn other online gaming regulations, including for online poker.
The ruling isn't a surprise to many following the legal developments surrounding online gaming in Germany. PokerFuse reported that in October Judge Advocate General Maciej Szpunar issued an opinion warning that the country is required to rewrite gaming laws that are in contradiction to that of European Union (EU) legislation.
Online gambling in the EU There is no sector-specific EU legislation in the field of gambling services.
'Further to a judgment of the Court from which it can be inferred that a national law is not compatible with EU law, all organs of a Member State concerned are under an obligation to remedy that situation,' Judge Advocate General Szpunar stated late last year.
History of German Online Gaming Legislation
Poker gained in popularity throughout the last decade, and the country was on the the game's center stage when Pius Heinzbecame the first German poker player to win the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2011.
The same year Heinz won the WSOP Main Event, the country enacted a gaming law with no restrictions on the amount of licenses that could be granted. While many applauded this at the time, just a few months later 15 of the 16 German states prohibited online poker after approving the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling.
Many online gaming operators chose to ignore this legislation believing that it was not in compliance with that of EU law.
Impact May Go Beyond Germany
The CJEU ruling also could prove to be good news for online poker players living in countries with restrictive gaming laws, such as Sweden. According to Poker Industry Pro, the Swedish gaming regulator granted the state gaming monopoly Svenska Spel a three-year license extension expiring in 2018, the country is also already working on new gaming laws.
It is believed that some Swedish legislators are reacting to the European Commission's referral to the European Court of Justice in October 2014, which claims that the country's online gaming monopoly is 'imposing restrictions on the organization and promotion of online betting services in a way which is inconsistent with EU law.'
Some legislators, led by Sweden's Minister of Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi, are pushing for a new online gaming regime before the country's general elections in September 2018.
Stay tuned at PokerNews as more develops in the German gaming marketplace.
*Image courtesy of Priit Kallas/FreeImages.com.
Online Gambling Banned In Germany
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Is Online Betting Allowed In Germany
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