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…