WOGLR: Germany: Schleswig-Holstein ready for change in gambling policy
The northern German State of Schleswig-Holstein has recently announced it plans to abandon Germany’s Interstate Treaty on Gambling, which bans online gambling nationwide. Dr. Wulf Hambach, a Partner at Hambach & Hambach, examines the possible effect of the state’s move and discusses the current (and future) state of the online gambling ban.
In a press release issued at the beginning of September 2009, the parliamentary leaders of the German Liberal Party, the FDP, called for a reform of the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ITG), and stressed that experts in the fields of addiction, economics and law were all opposed to a ban on internet gambling as a suitable tool for regulating online gambling. In particular, Detlef Parr, former Member of the Bundestag and FDP expert for sports affairs, addiction and illegal drugs, stressed the need for reform and called for the ITG to be terminated by the federal states ahead of schedule, so that suitable reform measures can be brought in without delay. This would thus decriminalise internet games such as sports betting and online poker for players and organisers, whilst continuing to protect players and simultaneously securing funding for charities. Jörg Bode, the new Minister of Economy of the Federal State of Lower Saxony, and expert for gambling issues in the FDP, opposes the current ITG and, in view of its ongoing evaluation, has demanded an in-depth study into the impact of the Treaty. These calls have been heard and have recently led to real measures against the current ITG. … Continue Reading
