european-court-rejects-german-gambling-restrictions

1 European Court Rejects German Gambling Restrictions

European Court turns down German gambling constraints
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8 September 2010

German betting constraints breach European Union law, the EU's greatest court has actually ruled.
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The European Court of Justice (ECJ) stated German laws that secure state monopolies for gambling were "unjustifiable".
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The judgment might open the way for foreign betting companies to develop a presence in Germany.

A lobby group representing gambling firms, consisting of PartyGaming and Bwin, called the judgement a "landmark".

German authorities have actually validated wagering monopolies by stating that they help secure consumers from the unfavorable results of betting.
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But the ECJ said this was inconsistent with Germany's promo and "extensive advertising" of its gaming operations.

The court said: "The German rules on sporting bets constitute a constraint on the liberty to supply services and the freedom of facility.

"The general public monopoly of the organisation of sporting bets and lottos in Germany does not pursue the goal of combating the risks of betting in a consistent and systematic way."

Several foreign wagering companies, including Britain's Happy Bet and Gibraltar's Digibet, brought a case versus German regional authorities in Hesse and northern Schleswig-Holstein.
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the yohaig code European Gaming and Betting Association welcomed the ruling.
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"this promotion code is a landmark judgment which will have a decisive effect on the much-needed reform in Germany," it said in a declaration.
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"Other member states have actually opened or are opening their markets. They show that consumers can be much better in a market that is both managed and open up to competition," it stated.

However, European Lotteries, a lobby group for national lottos in 40 nations, challenged whether the judgment would open up the German market.

"On the contrary," the group said in a statement, "the court reminded Germany that it has to control more strictly the bet9ja's welcome offer of harmful types of betting such as gambling establishment games and video gaming devices.
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"the yohaig code court pointed once again to the yohaig code greater dangers related to internet gaming."

EGBA

European Lotteries