EU blocks Germany’s efforts to penalise online betting operators

The European Union issued a ruling that prevents the German government from penalising unlicensed operators.

Belgium.- The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) reached this decision as it considers that German online gambling law makes it impossible for operators currently licensed in other European countries, to get their licenses in Germany.

Under Germany’s Interstate Treaty issued in 2012, a limited number of online sports betting licenses would be issued, whilst banning any other type of online gambling. In 2014, the European country announced the issuance of 20 online betting licenses, but operators claimed the process was deliberately designed to prevent the granting of any license.

In a statement, Mathias Dahms, president of the German Sports Betting Association (DSWV), called for a “fundamental reform of gambling regulation” as he believes the Treaty presents “basic design flaws.”

Furthermore, Maarten Haijer, head of the European Gambling and Betting Association, asked the European Commission to open enforcement proceedings against Germany with the aim of ensuring a reconsideration of the country’s gambling laws “rather than persists with the failed Interstate Treaty.”