Lottoland banned from offering lotto betting in Germany

A German court has banned Lottoland from operating in Germany, ruling it was active in the country without a local licence.

The case was brought in the Koblenz district court by Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz, which is the only licensed provider of lottery games in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Lottoland offers a German version of its website, allowing bets on all three of the lotteries offered by Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz.

Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz filed a lawsuit requesting that Lottoland be ordered to cease its business activities in Germany and any associated advertising in the province. In addition, the suit requests payment of damages and confirmation from the company how much revenue had been made from offering these games in the state.

Lottoland refused to provide this information, arguing the German lottery monopoly under the Interstate treaty on Gambling violates European Union competition law and that as such they did not require permission to offer lottery betting on Rheinland-Pfalz lotteries.

It argued the case should be referred for a final judgment by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

However, the district court backed the authority of the Interstate treaty, saying Lottoland did not have permission to operate lottery betting and its Gibraltar license was invalid in Germany. It also dismissed Lottoland’s claims that the German monopoly on lottery games put them at a competitive disadvantage asserting that it was not in fact a lottery and was therefore not at a disadvantage.

In its summations, the court said: “[Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz has been] deprived of potential customers by the defendant’s gambling offers and the corresponding advertising measures, the defendant was under an obligation to compensate the plaintiff for all damages incurred as a result of loss of gambling stakes, according to the defendant.”

However, the judgment of the court is not final and Lottoland has one month to appeal against the decision.