Schleswig-Holstein Calls for Better Gambling Regulation

• Lawmakers from Schleswig-Holsten raise regulatory gambling points
• New rules on gambling to be adopted in June 2021
• European Commission unsatisfied with the proposed Treaty

The state of Schleswig-Holstein is planning on raising several issues about the more liberal regulation of the online casino industry.

Schleswig-Holstein Gambling Framework Addresses Restrictive Statutes

Lawmakers form Schleswig-Holstein continue to work on important areas in the upcoming regulatory overhaul of gambling regulation in Germany. These changes will be discussed and voted on in the upcoming meeting of state heads and chancellors who will address how Germany should regulate online gambling and sports betting.

The meeting started earlier today – Thursday, September 19 – and it will run through Friday. Another meeting will be next in October when during the Minister-President Conference is expected to allocate a significant time on the issue.

Schleswig-Holstein lawmakers continue to insist for a fair, responsible and transparent market insofar as online casinos are concerned. The only way to achieve this would be through the nation-wide regulation of all operators and activities.

A number of officials commented on the issue, including Hans-Jörn Arp who is the parliamentary leader of the CDU. Others joined, including Lasse Persdotter, Jan Marcus Rossa and Lars Harms. They agreed on the following, making an official statement:

One of our primary goals is to protect gamblers and minors from gambling addiction. In addition, we want to prevent fraudulent activities and effectively counteract the risk of money laundering.

A number of issues need to be re-evaluated, the signatories argue, as the country draws closer to implementing the new regulatory framework that will guide the gambling market starting from June 30, 2021.

Regulating Online Gambling, Bringing Back Offshore Players

One of those issues is the regulation of online casino regulation. Affiliate companies have been fast-expanding their departments focusing the German market and bringing a lot of man power to their Germany-facing websites.

However, the lawmakers believe that there are still irregularities regarding online casinos that need to be solved. The four lawmakers also insist that the State Treaty’s prohibition on live betting is lifted when it comes to final scores and next goal scorer types of wagers.

Interestingly, they are against the so-called Trennungsgebot, which basically suspends the use of gaming machines and sports betting in the same land-based venue. In other words, the current form of the law wants there to be a clear distinction between gambling and betting operations – online and offline.

Today, there are two proposed frameworks in the country. One is the State Treaty on Gambling which was introduced in March with a new series of amendments. Then again, there is the framework drawn up by Schleswig-Holstein, which is generally to be considered more liberal.

Moreover, the State Treaty is supposed to be just a placeholder while debates are ongoing about the points raised by Schleswig-Holstein. As it stands, the Treaty may need to allow the Schleswig-Holstein to take the front seat, after the March-voted framework has drawn criticism from the European Commission.

EC has found the Treaty to be too restrictive and its effectiveness to be limited when it comes to helping offshore gamblers and bettors find their way to a licensed property within Germany.