Schleswig-Holstein Minister backs new licences
Andreas Breitner of the SPD says seven licensees safe and that a further four to six licences will soon be awarded.
Schleswig-Holstein’s new Minister for the Interior has insisted the state’s seven dot.de online gaming operators’ licences are safe and that he will look to sanction a further four to six new licensees from a backlog of more than 40 applicants.
Andreas Breitner of the SPD party, which recently formed a coalition with the Green party and South Schleswig Voter Federation following its narrow victory over Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU), said the six-year long licences would not be cancelled as a result of the new government desire to return to the controversial state Treaty rejected by the European Commission earlier this year.
Breitner said more licenses would be awarded in the coming weeks and that the seven licences that have already been distributed would remain valid for six years suggesting cancelling them was “not realistic”.
“Because of legitimate expectations and the resulting damages we would to fulfil the contracts. We currently have 42 applications, some are ready for a decision,” said the minister. “I expect that another four to six licenses will be issued,” he added.
Earlier this month eGaming Review reported that the seven existing licences in Schleswig-Holstein, including bwin.party, Betfair, mybet, Tipico, bet365, Betclic and Die Nordwestlotto, were under threat of being cancelled just a month after being awarded after the state’s new coalition government declared its intentions to seek a return to the country’s state treaty.
A spokesman for Schleswig-Holstein licensed mybet.de told eGaming Review: “We welcome the opinion of the new interior minister and are hopeful that now the remaining licenses for casino and poker will be issued quickly.”
Among the coalition’s proposals is a paragraph stating it would look to join the state treaty alongside the country’s other 15 Länder and examine options to “dispose of licences without being liable” for any compensation from the seven existing licensees.
The translated statement read: “The government aims to put in place gambling regulation which is harmonised across all Länder and to join the State Treaty on gambling. The government will examine how the SH gambling law may be repealed without giving rise to compensation claims and how it may be possible to amend the [Schleswig Holstein] gambling law in line with competition law in order to stop the issuing of licenses.”
The SPD has strongly criticised the state’s Gambling Act ever since its introduction, and attempted to nullify it in May but failed to pass it through Parliament.