German Betting Tender Progresses As ECJ Sets Digibet Decision Date
By Daniel Mcadam, Gambling Compliance
Europe’s highest court will rule next week on a case into the enforceability of Germany’s internet gambling restrictions, but lawyers believe it is unlikely to disrupt the country’s contentious betting tender as applicants move into the final phase.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will release its judgment on June 12 into the Digibet case (C-156/13) about whether Germany’s gambling legislation is inconsistent and breaks EU rules.
The EU judges were asked about the disparity of the Schleswig-Holstein region having an open licensing process compared with a more restrictive system in the rest of the country that bans online casino and poker.
In a complicated scenario, Schleswig-Holstein voted to repeal its gambling law on the same day that the case was referred to the ECJ, but its 48 online casino and betting licences remain in force.
“I can’t imagine the court will say all is fine. Even a legally blind person can see it’s not a coherent situation,” said Wulf Hambach, partner at Hambach & Hambach law firm in Munich.
