Germany Suffers Setback for Online Gambling Plans
It was hoped that Germany would be a world leader in reforming archaic online gambling laws with a progressive platform that would address the reality of today’s dynamics and needs. Instead, perhaps distracted by the immigration issue that has caused a revolt of the general German population, what were hoped to be the most intelligent online gambling laws in the world are now in a holding pattern at best and obliterated into shambles at worst.
An administrative court in the state of Hesse has upheld a previous ruling that 20 online sports betting licenses issues as a part of a 2012 online gambling bill are considered to be illegitimate. As is the case with many laws in Germany and the German culture itself the constant legal challenges of online gambling in Germany have proven to be problematic and a road block towards progress and hopes for a sensible solution.
Germany has 16 states within its federation that are similar to states in the United States of America in that they can pass their own laws. The German State of Schleswig – Holstein passed a very open and liberal gambling law in 2012 which legalized nearly all forms of online gambling and included sports and poker. The other 15 states at that same time passed an Interstate Treaty on Gambling that legalized sports betting by itself and permitted 20 operating licenses to jumpstart the idea.
As for now things are at a stall at a critical moment in German history and a most tumultuous year for the Federation.
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