ECJ confirms special path taken by Kiel

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has decided on German gaming legislation. According to this decision, the special path taken by the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein does not violate the coherence requirement under EU law.

The ECJ decided the question as to whether the temporary issue of licences for providers of online gaming in Schleswig-Holstein resulted in the restrictions for internet games in force in Germany being no longer applicable as a whole. According to the judges in Luxembourg, the special path taken by the federal government in Kiel during a 14 month period does not violate the coherence requirement under EU law. … Continue Reading

How much transparency does EU/EEA law require in a tender procedure?

By Dr. Simon Planzer, Planzer Law

The EFTA Court is shortly handing down a judgment that will have significant impact on future tender procedures in Europe. The ECJ’s sister court will need to answer two essential questions. First, what are the requirements for casino concession award procedures? And second, what are the consequences if these requirements are not met?

On 5 June 2014, the oral hearing in case E-24/13 Casino Admiral AG v Wolfgang Egger was held before the EFTA Court. The legal dispute arose from a casino concession award procedure. Upon a public tender, the Liechtenstein Government granted the (exclusive) concession to run a casino to Mr Wolfgang Egger. … Continue Reading

Economic Summit on the Island of Sylt: Gaming law still is a legislative patchwork

By Ansgar Lange

Expert panel: Financial Blocking collides with data protection – Kiel gaming act stands for sustainable security in online gaming

Sylt, May 2014 – Games are a fundamental element of our culture. Human beings are players – and without their desire and ability to play, large parts of our culture could not have developed. However: “Homo ludens”, i.e. “Man the Player”, has a hard time in 2014 if he wants to take part in attractive and legal games in Germany. Responsibility for this lies with the German federal states, with their First Treaty Amending the Inter-State Treaty on Gambling (GlüÄndStV) from 2012, which provides for the licensing of a total of 20 providers on the German betting market. Up to now, no licenses have been issued, parts of a market which is worth billions continues to be unregulated, and there is an alternative in the Schleswig-Holstein Gambling Act which has received high praise internationally whilst being fought within the country itself. … Continue Reading

German Betting Tender Progresses As ECJ Sets Digibet Decision Date

By Daniel Mcadam, Gambling Compliance

Europe’s highest court will rule next week on a case into the enforceability of Germany’s internet gambling restrictions, but lawyers believe it is unlikely to disrupt the country’s contentious betting tender as applicants move into the final phase.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will release its judgment on June 12 into the Digibet case (C-156/13) about whether Germany’s gambling legislation is inconsistent and breaks EU rules.

The EU judges were asked about the disparity of the Schleswig-Holstein region having an open licensing process compared with a more restrictive system in the rest of the country that bans online casino and poker.

In a complicated scenario, Schleswig-Holstein voted to repeal its gambling law on the same day that the case was referred to the ECJ, but its 48 online casino and betting licences remain in force.

“I can’t imagine the court will say all is fine. Even a legally blind person can see it’s not a coherent situation,” said Wulf Hambach, partner at Hambach & Hambach law firm in Munich.

TIME Law News 01|2014

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