The Carmen Media Case – The Expected Catalyst from Brussels for a New Approach to German Gambling Law?

Gerald Spindler, Wulf Hambach and Bernd Berberich*
Case C-46/08 Carmen Media Group Ltd v. Land Schleswig-Holstein and others

Billions of Euros of turnover are generated every year from games of chance. The legal framework conditions regulating this branch of the economy vary significantly within the European Union. Whilst in many countries such as Germany the state has … Continue Reading

VMW Taxand Annual Gaming Industry Get-together / Friday 1 April 2011

VMW Taxand kindly invites you to join us for the   Annual Gaming Industry Get-together to be held on

Friday 1 April 2011 … Continue Reading

OPENING UP THE GAMING MARKET IN THE NETHERLANDS?

by Justin Franssen and Frank Tolboom

Things are currently moving rapidly in the Dutch gaming market  due to both political and legal developments. The new Dutch  government indicated that it might introduce a licensing regime for remote gambling, and very recently a sell-off of state-owned Holland Casino was suggested by the state secretary of finance in Parliament.

… Continue Reading

Gambling Compliance. ECJ Special Report: A Mandate For German Gambling Reform

January 2011 by Gambling Compliance

Executive Summary

There is consensus that the September 2010 European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgments involving the Carmen Media case1 and the combined cases of Markus Stoß are likely to result in significant changes. This is true, not only in Germany, but also in Europe.

Implications for Germany
While the ECJ has mandated change for the regulation of gambling in Germany, the level of change required to achieve a coherent model is yet to be determined. There is an urgent need to end the legal chaos. However, a political solution may be difficult to find, with views divided along party lines among the country’s 16 federal states or Länder. … Continue Reading

The Engelmann ruling and its implications on Austria

By Attorney-at-law Dr. Arthur Stadler and scientific assistant Nicholas Aquilina from our

Austrian co-operation partner Brandl & Talos law firm.

A year and a day after the European Court of Justice (“ECJ”) had ruled on the Portuguese case C-42/07, Liga Portuguesa and only one day after three judgements in German gaming cases (C-316/07 et al, Markus Stoß et al, C-46/08, Carmen Media and C-409/06, Winner Wetten), the ECJ issued its judgement on the Austrian case for a preliminary ruling C-64/08, Engelmann on 9 September 2010. The Court holds that certain provisions in the Austrian Gaming Act and “the total absence of transparency for the purposes of the grant of the concessions” to the Austrian de-facto monopolist casino operator, Casinos Austria AG (“CASAG”), are contrary to EU law. … Continue Reading