German Bill Liberating Online Sports Betting in Schleswig-Holstein Submitted

This month, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) wish to discuss a draft gambling law at the Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein state parliament. Initially, this bill was intended to be a national German gambling law, but now it has been transformed to a State Gaming Treaty.

The coalition government, sometimes referred to as the “black-yellow government”, has been pushing for less restrictive betting on sports in Germany for quite a while.

Currently, all German sports betting must go through OddBet, a state-run monopoly which oversees all the bookies. If this new law is successfully passed, Schleswig-Holstein will open its market to other offline and online sportsbooks in Germany, regardless of whether the rest of the nation chooses to maintain the monopoly.

Pressure against the state monopoly is growing around the country. Likewise, in Bavaria a recent German court decision threatens the online gambling monopoly. The judges asserted that the state’s domination of gambling can only be compatible with European law if the entire gambling market, from lottery to sports betting, where consistently organized to control addiction. By contrast, Norman Faber, president of the German lottery association admitted “The current legal framework is inconsistent and leads to the end of the lottery and sports betting monopolies”.