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]