Germany Seeking Solution

The European Commission had come down on Germany recently regarding their position to the banning of online gambling in countries outside of themselves. The Commission had said that they were going to initiate new infringement proceedings against the Federal Republic of Germany as they saw it that they were simply choosing to infringe on the rights of the other countries in the State Treaty.

Germany is well aware that if the European Commission begins these proceedings and they went before the European Court of Justice, the likelihood that Germany would not win is great. The Commission wins roughly 97% of all of their cases that are brought before the court.

The state’s treaty on gaming has been attacked by many in both the government and elsewhere as hypocritical and unlawful. Many think that it is simply an attempt by a small number of people who are trying to keep Germany’s money inside Germany and not open their borders to the free trade that they are supposed to allow. They say that initially they were told that it was an attempt by the government to protect those in their country from gambling addiction and loss of income. However, in recent months it has become more apparent that it is about greed instead.

Within Germany the lack of unanimity in the country is apparent in the way various people speak of the treaty. They say it is simply an attempt to run a monopoly on lotteries and sports betting, as slot machines and casinos are not affected by it. The slot machines and casinos are held by private companies and individuals and are therefore not subject to the same rules and regulations as the lotteries are.

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