EC demands evidence to support gambling in Germany

GERMANY has a two-year deadline to prove to the European Commission that their proposals to liberalise state gambling monopolies will fit into the European free-market rules, according to reports within the Financial Times and Reuters.

Germany‘s 16 states currently have a state monopoly on online gambling, but 15 of them in December backed a new gambling law that would award 20 nationwide licenses to sports betting companies.

Bwin.Party, Betfair and Germany’s Tip24 are amongst those eyeing up the market.

Martin Cruddace, Betfair’s chief legal and regulatory affairs officer, said the proposals were clearly a long way short of satisfying the Commission.

“The proposals contravene fundamental EU free market principles and it is only right that the Commission acts to prevent member states from enacting legislation designed to keep local monopolies in and the competition out,” he said.

One German state, Schleswig-Holstein, has forged its own path and passed its own gambling legislation last year.

Analysts at London-based broker Numis said on Tuesday: “The Schleswig-Holstein licensing regime has already been approved by the EC and we believe that the other States are likely to slowly come into line.”

It was reported that the European Commission has criticised revised proposals from 15 German states for a new treaty on Internet gambling, saying it needed evidence that the planned restrictions, which have also drawn criticism from gambling companies, were justified.

The criticisms were outlines in an unpublished letter. According to Reuters, the Commission welcomes changes which would enable licensing, but at the same time, there was not enough information to validate the process.

Reuters also reported that these states didn’t have the data to support a ban on online casino and poker games, which were prone to rigging, addictive or exploited for money laundering.