SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Germany’s Hesse Ministry will allow online betting operators to apply for temporary licenses, while national regulators seek to overhaul the country’s licensing and regulatory framework.
Updating industry stakeholders, Hesse courts will allow national and international operators to apply for ‘orders of tolerance’ until the 15 November. If approved, betting operators will be allowed to service online betting provisions to German consumers, under provisional laws and tax charges.
Hesse courts implement the temporary procedure, having been criticised by the European Parliament, industry stakeholders and German sports bodies regarding the restrictive conditions of its original online sports betting legislation.
In October 2015, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled against the Hesse Ministry’s framework, which had issued twenty ‘provisional’ sports betting licenses for the regulated German market causing uproar from applicant bookmakers.
ECJ officials stated that Hesse regulations run contrary to EU business practices and policies concerning fair market conditions.
Hesse’s latest announcement has been downplayed by industry stakeholders, who remain unclear on the long-term future of German sports betting, questioning whether any company will apply for a temporary license.
