German gambling monopoly is "unjustifiable", EU court says

Sep 8, 2010, 9:08 GMT

Luxembourg - A German state monopoly on most forms of gambling is 'unjustifiable' and must be ended at once because it is neither consistent nor systematically applied, the European Union's top court ruled Wednesday.

Under German rules, only the country's 16 federal states (Laender) or companies run by them can offer most gambling services.

A number of private betting firms challenged that rule, arguing that it was inconsistent because the Laender kept a monopoly on most forms of gambling, but did not hold a monopoly on other forms, such as slot machines and casinos.

And the Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice ruled that 'the German rules do not limit games of chance in a consistent and systematic manner,' and that therefore 'the monopoly ceases to be justifiable.'

Germany will have to end the monopoly at once, since 'national rules concerning that monopoly, held to be contrary to the fundamental freedoms of the Union, cannot continue to apply during the time necessary to bring it into conformity with Union law.'