iGB: Hamburg files complaints against trio of igaming operators

The Hamburg Ministry of the Interior and Sport has filed complaints against a trio of online gambling operators, which it claims have violated the prohibition on online gaming in the country.

The case is now with the Hamburg Public Prosecutor, which will be tasked with making a decision whether to pursue it.

While the Ministry would not confirm the companies named in the complaint, local media has reported that GVC’s bwin, Tipico and Bet3000 are the operators in question. The trio have been accused of illegally offering online casino and sports betting to players in the country.

Read the whole article here.

Founders of GL.eu listed in “ExpertGuides”

The founders of GL.eu are listed in the Gaming and Gambling section as “Best of the Best Top 30” of Legal Media Group’s “Expert Guides” who has been an invaluable and indispensable source of guidance for in-house counsel in large corporations worldwide, since its inception in 1994. These practice area guides are designed primarily for individuals who require access to World’s leading practitioners in specific areas of law for the purpose of instruction on an international basis.

Webinar: Germany and its new regulatory regime – market opening or market closing?

Wulf Hambach will speak together with Georg Gubo from Greentube and Rolf Karpenstein in a iGB webinar about “Germany and its new regulatory regime – market opening or market closing?” on 6 May 2020 at 3:00pm BST

To attend and to see all information about the webinar here.

VIXIO GamblingCompliance: German State To Appeal Court-Ordered Licensing Halt

By David Altaner

• Conference of state regulators’ influence called non-transparent
• Potential break on €5m deposits not sufficiently disseminated
• Some operators may welcome continuation of limbo

German sports-betting licensing was blocked largely due to the shadowy involvement of a committee of 16 state regulators, according to court statements released on Monday, in a ruling the Darmstadt Council said it will appeal. 

A spokesman for that licensing body said it will appeal a ruling last week that halted it processing applications over complaints the process was opaque and discriminatory.

The Darmstadt Administrative Court stopped the process in part because the Glücksspielkollegium, or conference of 16 state regulators, is involved in the licence awarding process in a way that has not been described in “a sufficiently transparent and comprehensible manner”.

iGaming Business – Let the Games begin… but in slow motion only

By Dr. Wulf Hambach and Yannick Skulski, Hambach & Hambach law firm

After years of chaos and legal disputes, the German federal states have finally decided to open up the internet not only for sports betting, but also for virtual slot machines, casino table games and poker. Wulf Hambach and Yannick Skulski look at the finer details

The new Interstate Treaty on the Revision of Gambling Legislation in Germany (Glücksspielneuregulierungsstaatsvertrag – GlüNeuRStV), scheduled to go into force on 1 July 2021, marks a turning point for the regulation of online gaming in Germany. 

In addition to online sports betting, virtual slot machines, online poker and online casino table games with a bank holder (such as blackjack or roulette) will also be regulated for the first time.

The current draft, to be approved by the minister-presidents of the 16 federal states on 12 March 2020 and ratified by 16 state parliaments, regulates in section 4, paragraph 4, “General provisions on the granting of licences”: