European Gaming Lawyer magazine Autumn 2017 | Page 26

a more visionary reform of the Treaty – as suggested by the state of Hesse 8 – the majority pushed for a so-called “minimally invasive reform” which would broadly conserve the Interstate Treaty. The corresponding Amendment Treaty 9 removes the limit to 20 sports betting licences and provides for the issuance of up to 35 “interim licences” to all the applicants that had passed stage 2 of the licensing process as of 1 January 2018 – provided that those applicants comply with key restrictions under the Interstate Treaty, including the ban on online casino and dropping important bet types in in-play betting. Further, the Amendment Treaty reserved the right of the German states to return to a state monopoly in gambling after its expiry in 2021. Consequently, enthusiasm within the industry about these regulatory prospects for 2018 has been very limited – to say the least. Gaming in the North – Günther is coming Germany’s northernmost state Schleswig- Holstein (‘SH’) already played a rebel role in 2011, when it refused to sign the Interstate Treaty and enacted its own Gambling Act which closely resembled the Danish model. This year, a surprising turn in state elections brought the political parties responsible for the original SH Gambling Act – Conservatives and Liberals – back in power. As for the SH Government’s agenda in gambling policy, newly elected Prime Minister Daniel Günther seems to be determined to seek a new approach. The agreement of the government coalition (which also involves the Green party) states: “The coalition will not approve of the Second Interstate Treaty Amending the Interstate Treaty in parliament. Schleswig- Holstein will terminate the Interstate Treaty on Gambling and, together with other states (e.g. Hesse, Rhineland- Palatinate and North Rhine Westphalia), it will seek a viable, EU law-compliant solution for the entire sector of sports betting including online casino gaming as well as poker gaming which will be oriented towards the regulations of the Gambling Act Schleswig-Holstein that has been in force until 2013.” 10 SH’s initiative is also likely to give fresh impetus to a broader political discussion throughout 2018 about reasonable regulation of gambling, including the licensing of online casino and sports betting. To conclude, even if, gazing into the crystal ball, some dark enforcement clouds overshadowing the area of compliance may be visible, there is also a silver lining on the licensing horizon which might provide new opportunities to the igaming industry in Germany. Schleswig-Holstein 2.0 Since the Amendment Treaty must be ratified by all 16 state parliaments in Germany by 31 December 2017, SH not ratifying the Amendment Treaty will cause the “minimally invasive reform” to fail. It is expected that this will lead to a continuation of the status quo in 2018, i.e. an unregulated German market in sports betting and online casino – a situation which, however, most of the igaming operators have been able to handle well over the past decade. Dr Joerg Hofmann is a Senior Partner and the Head of the Gaming Law practice at MELCHERS and Immediate Past President of the IMGL. He can be reached by email: [email protected] 8 The Guidelines for Modern Regulation of Gambling of the Hessian Minister of the Interior of 8 October 2015 are available at: https://www. hessen.de/pressearchiv/pressemitteilung/hessen-macht-konkrete-vorschlaege-fuer-eine-moderne-gluecksspielregulierun-0 9 The “Second Interstate Treaty amending the Interstate Treaty on Gambling” of 28 October 2016. 10 The SH coalition agreement is available in the German language at: http://www.fdp-lv-sh.de/sites/default/files/uploads/2017/06/16/ koalitionsvertrag2017print.pdf 26 | European Gaming Lawyer | Autumn Issue | 2017 Dr Matthias Spitz is a Senior Partner at MELCHERS and Member of the IMGL. He can be reached by email: [email protected] Jessica Maier, LL.M. is a gaming attorney with MELCHERS law firm. She can be reached by email: [email protected]