German licensing woes continue as advisory board resigns
Body set up to advise on sports betting licensing process has stood down after criticism was ignored by the country's regulators
An advisory board made up of major German sports organisations has resigned as an advisor to the country’s sports betting licensing procedure after it said comments and views were being ignored by gambling regulators.
The German Sports Advisory Board (SAB), which was set up to provide advice to the German Gambling Committee, has repeatedly delivered warnings on what has now become a long and drawn-out licensing process.
In 2013 it recommended repealing the limitation of 20 licences under the German Interstate Treaty, a recommendation which was later ignored and the SAB recently criticised what it viewed as “obvious shortcomings of the licensing process” which “make nonsense” of the agreed regulated framework
However, according to the SAB, these comments were removed without prior consultation from the Gambling Committee’s interim report on gambling regulation, which was sent to the European Commission.
The SAB described the removal of its criticisms by the Gambling Committee as a “snub”, and prompted the body to resign in protest from its advisory position.
Speaking to eGaming Review, Matthias Spitz, lawyer at German law firm MELCHERS, said the resignation of SAB was a result of its frustration at the much maligned licensing process.
“It seems obvious that the members of the Sports Advisory Board are fed up with being the fig leaf for the Gambling Committee,” Spitz said.
“The resignation of the Sports Advisory Board is a clear signal to German policymakers that not only the betting industry but also other important stakeholders consider the licensing process to have come to a deadlock,” he added.
Despite the award to 20 sports betting licenses last year, a fully-regulated Germany-wide framework remains elusive as unsuccessful licence applicants mount a legal challenge against the licensing process.