Poll results: Operators will fight for new German legislation
Majority of readers believe ruling against ministry responsible for licensing opens door for operators to push for positive change
Emboldened by the success of a court case which ruled against the ministry responsible for the German egaming licensing process, operators will push for wholesale changes to regulation, eGR‘s readers believe.
The Administrative Court of Wiesbaden ruled that the Ministry of the Interior of Hesse “ the Land responsible for the licensing process “ was not implementing a clear procedure. It decreed that the Ministry and had acted illegally by only selecting 14 of the 149 applicants to the third stage of the process.
The Court went on to question the decision to reject applications from Schleswig-Holstein licensees, querying why an operator could be seen as fit and proper in one federal state, but not in another. This effectively sets a precedent for other firms to take the Ministry to court, potentially derailing the whole process.
One legal source told eGR that the process was “a mess” and that it was likely to delay the market opening until 2014 “at least”. A quarter (25%) of those polled believe that despite such delays, the market will open under the current framework, without Hesse ever having to implement a transparent and fair process.
However, 18.75% share a more optimistic view, believing that with the legal precedent set, Hesse will be forced to totally restart the process. The first two stages, where operators were asked to inform the state of their interest and then submit large amounts of documentation to prove the robustness of their business, were both subject to delays. With the process already moving so slowly, this may prove to be the member-states’ best chance of ensuring the market can open without any major changes to legislation.
But the majority of readers feel that this case is will be a turning point for what has become a drawn-out and controversial saga. Around 56% of those polled believe that operators will now push for changes to legislation, and this could be aided by the Court of Justice of the European Union. The CJEU has been asked to investigate whether the existence of several regulatory regimes within a single member state is compliant with EU law, and should it rule against the current system, egaming would have a strong case for change.
The case for revising the terms of the State Treaty is supported by H2 Gambling Capital’s assertion that the current regulatory framework would capture just 7.3% of the German gambling market. eGR‘s data partner explained that by implementing a 16.67% turnover tax on sports betting rather than a 15% on gross profit across all products, tax revenues will be 55m less than projected.
(Photo courtesy of ‘Luukas’ – obtained via Creative Commons)