Could the ECJ signal an end to player losses cases in Germany?

By Nicole Macedo (iGB)

A European Court of Justice (ECJ) hearing that started on 9 April threatens to dismantle the player losses cases model in Germany.

German and Austrian regional courts have processed upwards of 20,000 cases brought by players seeking to retrieve losses from gambling companies, prior to the current State Treaty on Gambling, which came into force in 2021. But today a number of these player losses cases have reached the ECJ, as they have raised broader questions of whether German regulations contradict European law.

These player losses cases, first brought to regional court in 2018, have questioned German gambling law under the previous treaty, but thousands have been settled either in or out of court over the years.

Read the whole article on iGB

Player Refund Saga Set for Major Test in Europe’s Top Court

The first of three pivotal cases, which could wreck or restart thousands of German player refund claims, will be heard next month at Europe’s highest court.

Read the whole VIXIO article here.

Online Gambling in Germany: What to Expect in 2025

By Dr. Wulf Hambach, Founding Partner and Phillip Beumer, Junior Partner at Hambach & Hambach law firm

When Germany’s Interstate Treaty on Gambling (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag) came into force on July 1, 2021, it was presented as a turning point for the regulation of online gambling. Daniel Hagemeier, a member of the governing CDU party in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), highlighted its importance by stating:

“The Interstate Gambling Treaty and our implementation in NRW must strike a balance between state regulation and freedom. We must protect people with a high potential for addiction from the temptations of gambling, but respect the freedom of each individual to gamble if they so wish. Our aim is not to demonize gambling and drive it into obscurity, but to channel it.”

SiGMA Advertising Panel: European Gaming Lawyers Frustrated With Ad Restrictions

• Gaming lawyers shared their frustrations during an advertising panel at SiGMA
• A Netherlands lawyer said he expects the country could implement a blanket ad ban
• Dr Hambach said ad limits are shrinking the legal German market, aiding illegal sites

Industry experts have had their say on the impact of gaming advertising restrictions in Europe during a SiGMA panel discussion this week in Malta.

Tuesday’s panel, named ‘The Ongoing Impact of Advertising Restrictions,’ featured representatives from law firms that work with gaming companies in the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark. All of them agreed that excessive advertising restrictions would only harm gaming customers by growing black market business.

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Please read the full article by Owain Flanders at www.vegasslostsonline.com.

See Impressions from SIGMA Advertising Panel:

TIME Law News 2/2023

The latest edition of the TIME Law News are now published.

Read the whole news here.