Germany’s troubled igaming situation has taken another setback, with northern state Schleswig-Holstein effectively dumping the proposed interstate treaty on internet gambling.
Schleswig-Holstein, which bucked the trend a few years ago by instituting its own online gambling laws while the other 15 states continued to argue, last week officially voted down the amendments to the Interstate Treaty on Gambling that were put into place in March.
Now the state is threatening to go it alone again because it feels that the treaty violates EU laws. The state’s politicians said that Schleswig-Holstein wanted more attention to responsible gambling controls to protect the vulnerable but that issue was not given enough consideration in the treaty.
It also has problems with the treaty in that it has always held fast to the position that sports betting should not be the only online gambling to be permitted in Germany. It wants online casinos and poker to be legalised and regulated too.
The amended Interstate Treaty needs approval from all 16 states to be implemented as planned in early 2018. Now the remaining 15 states will have to go it alone, start again, or negotiating with Schleswig-Holstein.
The Interstate Treaty has had problems since it was first instituted in 2012 and covers much more than online gaming. It also includes plans - already being implemented - for the sizeable reduction in the number of arcades and therefore slot machines in the street market.
