In January 2012, Schleswig-Holstein passed a liberal German gambling law which enabled online operators to apply for licenses for most games of chance, including sports bets, poker and casino games. The other fifteen German federal states, however, passed the reformed Interstate Treaty on Gambling 2012.

Although the ISTG enabled online operators to accept sports wagers and liberalized the German gambling industry (in particular with respect to lotteries) to a certain extent, it also maintained the state monopoly for games of chance and the general ban on online gambling as set out under the previous legislation.

Schleswig-Holstein withdrew its new German gambling law in January 2013 (after it had granted about 50 licenses to online operators) and joined the ISTG, which is now the only applicable gambling law in Germany. However, those licenses already granted under Schleswig-Holstein’s gambling law remain valid for a period of six years. In other words, about 50 online operators may still lawfully offer gambling services despite the prohibition under the ISTG.

The conflict created by these opposing regimes could make the general state monopoly and the general ban on online gambling set out in the ISTG unenforceable under European law. The General Federal Supreme Court requested a preliminary ruling on the matter from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in January 2013.

We are still waiting for its decision and, until we receive it, the legal situation in Germany with respect to German gambling law remains unclear. This story originally appeared on the Lexology website.