ECJ states that gambling operators must meet individual EU countries’ licensing rules
Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou has issued an opinion related to a case brought against Tipico.
Luxembourg.- Nicholas Emiliou, an Advocate General (AG) at the European Court of Justice, has issued another opinion in relation to a player loss case brought in Germany. The AG was asked for an opinion by Germany’s Federal Court of Justice.
The case in question involves a lawsuit brought against the gambling operator Tipico in a bid to recoup losses incurred when online gambling was unlicensed in Germany. The case was referred to the ECJ in July 2024.
Emiliou stated that in the ECJ’s opinion gambling operators must comply with local licensing rules in EU member states, provided those requirements align with the bloc’s principles on free movement. Interpreting Article 56 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), he stated: “Where a Member State requires a licence for the provision of certain services on its territory, and that requirement is, in itself, compatible with Article 56 TFEU, the national authorities, including the courts, are entitled to enforce that requirement against an operator which has provided services without the required licence.”
The AG effectively clarified that member states retain the right to set their own gambling regulations, recognising “significant moral, religious and cultural differences between the Member States” in terms of how games of chance are treated.
“The national authorities remain entitled, as regards their national territory, to adopt the regulatory arrangements which they consider appropriate to protect consumers against those risks, provided that the principle of proportionality is respected,” he said.
The ECJ’s opinion only addresses a specific point of EU law and does not provide a resolution to the case, which must still be decided by the court in Germany.
Back in September, Emiliou had issued an opinion on case C‑440/23, which was referred to the ECJ by a Maltese civil court with regard to Germany’s blocking of Maltese-licensed gambling sites. In that opinion, Emiliou deemed it valid for Germany to block access to online casinos licensed in Malta and found that civil claims by players against operators who lacked local licences do not constitute an abuse of EU law. That would support the legal basis for player loss cases brought against Malta-licensed platforms.
The opinion also agreed with claimants that player-operator contracts were void under applicable contract law.
