German Online Gambling Ban Challenged by Gambling Industry Group EGBA

The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) on Tuesday lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission (EC) against an accord that came into effect 1 January banning online gaming (including online poker) and betting, except for bets on horse racing, within the 16 states that comprise Germany.

EGBA represents some of the larger European gaming and betting operators, including Bet-at-home.com, bwin, Digibet, Gibraltar-based Carmen Media Group, Expekt, Interwetten, PartyPoker's PartyGaming and Unibet.

The EGBA points out that the ban "is in direct contravention of European Union law". "The official [German] claim is consumer protection and we feel that claim is unjustified," EGBA Secretary General Sigrid Ligne told the BBC this week. "We urge the Commission now to fast track our complaint and launch infringement proceedings against Germany."

The lobby group said the Germany treaty makes the granting of licenses "completely discretionary", places an "unjustified and inconsistent prohibition of online gaming and betting", and "strict advertising and sponsoring prohibitions".

EUROPEAN COMMISSION CHALLENGES GERMANY TOO

The European Commission, headed by former Irish finance minister Charlie McCreevy, has already taken several steps towards legally challenging Germany over the treaty last year even before it came into force, requiring a reply to their legal opinion (click here for related article).

"The Commission does not believe this piece of legislation is in line with Community law," said his spokesman Oliver Drewes, who noted that, like several other countries, Germany is trying to restrict certain types of gambling while leaving others, particularly state lotteries, alone.

"You have to have the same rules for everybody and not a situation where different operators are treated in a different way," Drewes said, noting that 10 EU member states are currently targeted forlegal action regarding their stance on gambling, including Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Hungary, the Netherlands, and Austria. "We now have to decide in the near future if we take this legal action to the next step," he added.

The Commission's next step with Germany is to issue a final warning, the step before taking Germany to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The court has the power to fine and force countries to comply with EU laws requiring the free movement of trade and services by EU-based operators across the EU's 27-member states.

"Prohibition is not and has never been a solution, be it in our sector or other sectors," EGBA chairman Norbert Teufelberger commented. "It is not a responsible approach and cannot be a substitute to an efficient gaming policy. Focusing on online gaming does not make sense when most recent peer-reviewed studies show that although online and offline gaming [have] different target audience[s], players' behaviour is similar whether online or offline."

He added that in a properly regulated environment, online gaming allows for higher transparency and technical and financial traceability.

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