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A district court in Germany has issued orders to the Gibraltar-based lottery betting operator Lottoland to stop operations in Germany. The court deemed that Lottoland is not authorised to enrol German players under the country’s State Treaty on Gaming. The court also ordered that Lottoland must stop its advertising in the country.
The court order came after a writ filed by Rhineland-Palatinate State Lottery, Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz GmbH. Lottoland tried to counter-argue that state-run lottery monopolies, operating under Germany’s State Treaty on Gaming, defy European Union law. The court refused the company’s request that the case be suspended in the District Court and heard before the European Union’s Court of Justice (ECJ).
In its ruling, the court clarified its position, saying the EU lawfulness of German lottery monopolies was irrelevant as Lottoland’s game principle is not based on the operation of a lottery but rather on betting on the outcome of lotteries. The court also deemed Lottoland’s offer as endangering player protections.
The ruling orders Lottoland open its books to scrutiny and pay compensation to Lotto Rheinland-Pfalz GmbH for “depriving it of potential customers resulting in the loss of gambling stakes”.
Germany is one of Lottoland’s core markets, and ironically their biggest winner to date hails from Berlin scooping the Euro 90 million jackpot in June 2018.
Source: Latest News on European Gaming Media Network
