Online gambling ban in Germany could be overturnedThe agreement between the ruling coalition Christian-Democratic Party (CDU) and the Liberal Party (FDP) in Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost of Germany's 16 Lander, was published on Saturday and called for an end to the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling and its replacement with new regulation. The leader of the FDP and the coalition in Schleswig-Holstein, Jurgen Koppelin, said that if the other German states failed to agree on a new uniform regulation to replace the Treaty, which came into force on 1 January last year, the coalition would seek to introduce an intrastate licensing system. German gaming lawyer Martin Arendts of Arendts Anwalte said that "the argument that only a monopoly can protect customers, prevent problem gambling and guard against fraud would not hold any more," which would undermine the monopoly position of the other German states. Although the coalition is only reported to have commented on the potential impacts of such a move on the land-based gaming industry in the state, such as privatising state-owned casinos, Arendts told EGRMagazine.com that any new licensing system would necessarily have to apply to online gaming and betting, all forms of which except horse race betting are currently banned.
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