German states reject wholesale changes to Interstate Treaty

The leaders of the 16 German states have rejected a proposal from the state of Hesse that would have introduced regulated online sports betting, casino and poker to the country.

The proposals also called for the removal of the controversial 20-licence limit for sports betting and to implement loss-limits and self-restriction protocols in place of the Interstate Treaty’s plans for a ?1,000 per month limit on player staking.

However leaders of the other 15 states rejected the proposal at a Conference of Prime Ministers last week, instead calling for “minimally invasive surgery” to heal the broken Interstate Treaty.

The minor amendments suggested by the state leaders will focus on sports betting, with Bavaria and Lower Saxony among the states proposing to increase the cap on the amount of licenses available to 40.

However, despite recent media reports, no final decision has been made on this and exact details are still being negotiated by a committee. Any changes could be initiated at the next conference of Prime Ministers in June, but the whole process will take until at least 2017, according to a source informed of the situation.

The Hesse proposals were brought forward in part as a response to a judgment from the European Court of Justice on 4 February, which ruled that the State Treaty contravened key competition principles of EU law.

As a result, the European Commission is expected to launch infringement proceedings against Germany in the next month, and the minor changes suggested by the state leaders are not likely to dissuade the Commission from legal action, according to German lawyer Martin Arendts.

“Such a minor amendment [increasing the amount of licences] would not make the Interstate Treaty and the licensing procedure compliant with EU law,” said Arendts. “The licensing procedure is and remains non-transparent and clearly against EU law,” he added.