The new regulations which will see the banning of private lottery agents and sports betting companies in Germany, is likely to be signed by all but one of the 16 federal states.
Only the Province of Schleswig-Holstein is expected to reject the proposal. Sports betting shops and machines are legal in Germany only if the server is based out of the country, but this has been seen as a major threat to the state-owned lottery.
There is now a proposal to enforce the monopoly for four years, from January 2008. One of the most notable sports betting businesses, Austria-based Cashpoint Sportwetten, will lose most of its German business if the monopoly is established.
The company is taking the German Government to the European Court on the issue.
