German Gambling Monopoly to Survive Yet Another Year to Dismay of EU

For more than a few year the European Union Commission as well as operators and owners of online casinos, sports books and bingo rooms have been trying in vain to reach an agreement with the sixteen states of Germany regarding the opening of the German online gambling market. All forms of online gambling and online casinos in Germany are currently illegal, and traditional casinos are heavily regulated.

The EU, heavily interested in unlocking the large and underground German online gambling market to casino companies already licensed in other EU member states. During a recent meeting EU openly announced that Germany is violating and ignoring trade union agreement by continuing to monopolize the gambling industry and preventing fellow EU member states from reaching the German market.

Under tremendous pressure not only from EU, powerful EU based online casino operators as well as the mood of the public, Germany announced that they will maintain the monopoly over gambling, and online sportsbooks in Germany at least until early 2012. In February 2012, the law which created the German gambling monopoly is set to expire, so a resolution between Germany and EU may be reached.

Germany defended its decision for the ban against foreign companies by claiming that it’s defending its citizen against fraudulent offshore-based operators of casinos and to prevent addiction. A recent study concluded that 2.5 million are breaking German gambling laws by gamble online, whether they play lottery, poker, or other games at least once per week. Such a large number of players and the intense pressure from EU should open up the German online market within a few years.