German states urge to adopt the Interstate Treaty on Gambling

The Minister of Finance in the State of Saxony-Anhalt, André Schröder, made a statement calling the governments of 16 German states to ratify the Interstate Federal Treaty on Gambling. The politician noted: Where each state did not implement the proposed initiative, measures concerning the online gambling legitimizing in the country would fail.

It is reported that the States of Germany are to formally adopt the Federal Treaty by 1 January of the following year. In the event if at least one of them does not undertake new provisions, they will not be able to operate within the territory of the entire state.

The Minister of Finance also encourages other countries to ratify the new legislation in order to avoid the termination of the contract. In turn, the representative of Totoblock (DLTB), Torsten Mejnberg, told the local media that if the Treaty was not ratified, the German sports betting sector would carry out further work illegally, and the government would not be able to properly control the unlawful gambling business.

"We risk leaving our customers without protection, in particular, because foreign gambling providers will not have a license to practice in our territories", – Mejnberg said.

Note: In 2008, the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling replaced the German gambling regulation. Four years later, it became effective in 15 federal states in Germany.

Schleswig-Holstein, one of the states, refused to legitimize the initiative in favour of establishing more liberal gambling legislation. As a result, local operators were able to obtain licenses to conduct their business in most of the gambling categories, including the possibility of working on the Internet.

The licenses issued within the territory of Schleswig-Holstein are due to expire next year. The new gambling regulation to be adopted by January 1, 2018, and entails removing limited permits for sports betting companies. It is also envisaged to delegate power to grant licenses from Hesse to another state.

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