It’s been a year since the commencement of the First Amendment to the Interstate Treaty on Gambling and it looks as if the German market is not ready to open up yet. This concerns some of the main European gaming companies as German regulations are tougher than they’d expected.
The Treaty suggested a reformation of gambling in Germany as the European Court of Justice (ECJ) announced that the German regulation violated the European law in 2010. As a way of fighting the gambling addiction and blocking the black market, the Treaty suggested that the market will only be available to 20 sports betting providers for a seven year period.
The European Comission made it clear to show its concerns about the German regulation, specifically to the limitation of providers and the Treaty’s lack of interest of casino games and online poker. The Comissions does not see the relationship of how a registration, with an overall number of licenses is ideal to reach the aimed goals. The limited boundaries inflicted on the sports betting organisation makes it very difficult to offer an appealing sports betting offer in Germany.