Opposition mounts against German Sports betting bill

Pressure has been mounting on the Hesse Ministry of Interior and Sports (HMDIS) to restructure and reform its online sports betting framework, as the regulatory body receives further criticism regarding its legislation process.

This week, the German Green Party were the latest critics of the framework, stating that HMDIS remove its 20 licence cap and include licensing provisions based on operators meeting quality conditions, rather than build policies set to a number of pre-qualified bookmakers by the regulator.

Green Party leadership further noted that it would support all attempts to amend the sports betting framework set by HMDIS.

Its support for reform, follows this month’s news that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) would investigate the legislative procedure following complaints from European operators, that the HMDIS breached inter-state competition practices and business best practice policies.

German media has reported that a total of 80 operators had applied to obtain 20 HMDIS licenses, those rejected complained that the regulator had not detailed appropriately why they had been declined.

The Luxembourg based ECJ court will likely pass its rulings and findings on the legislative processes by September

Industry commentators believe that reform to Germany’s sports bill will likely be passed, and that operators aiming to enter the market should expect further delays to the frameworks implementation.