Munich court upholds complaint against Lotto Bayern
The court heard a complaint from a secondary lottery company that accused Lotto Bayern of using inaccurate advertising online.
Germany.- Munich’s Regional Court has upheld a complaint lodged against the state lottery operator Lotto Bayern for use of inaccurate advertising.
A Malta-based secondary lottery operator had made the complaint, in which it questioned several adverts on Lotto Bayern’s YouTube channel: a discussion on the use of lottery funds to promote sports, a video entitled “cool life” and a link to another YouTube channel, “EuroJackpot- EuroJackpot results”.
It also complained about an advert for a “lucky number horoscope” on Lotto Bayern’s Facebook page, which promoted a pre-filled numbers game called “Lotto 6aus49”.
The lottery betting operator said these all constituted unlawful advertising under section 5 (1) of Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling since they encouraged participation instead of simply stating the chances of winning.
It also argued that the “lucky number horoscope” ad suggested an increased chance of winning, which constituted unfair business practice.
The court agreed that Lotto Bayern’s ads violated German gambling legislation. It ruled that the videos portrayed gambling in a positive way by suggesting that customers who participate in the lottery could live a “cool life”, while the “lucky number horoscope” ad breached rules on fair trading.
