Days after the German state of Schleswig-Holstein delayed until 2013 a vote on rejoining the German Interstate Treaty on Gambling, the Länder has, to the surprise of many, issued its first 12 online casino licences.
While Schleswig-Holstein continues to waver between repealing its existing state legislation and deciding on whether it will become the last of Germany’s 16 states to join the federal treaty on gambling, the region has pressed ahead with the issue of online casino licences to operators including Ladbrokes, Bwin, Betfair, Pokerstars, 888Poker and bet365.
A further 18 applications for the six-year licences remain “under consideration”. The Schleswig-Holstein government was obliged to issue the licences by the existing legislation, which it still hopes to repeal; a decision that has attracted considerable criticism from the 15 operators already issued with online sports betting licences.
In making the announcement, interior minister Andreas Breitner re-iterated the state’s intention to repeal the existing gambling act and rejoin the national treaty but said the state had an obligation to respect the existing law.
