Post by jdaddy on Jan 2, 2008 14:15:29 GMT -4
Germany to Outlaw Internet Gambling Tomorrow
BY: SHAWN PATRICK GREEN | shawn.green@cardplayer.com
PUBLISHED: Monday Dec 31, 2007 11:28 AM
A Majority of German States Voted to Ratify Online Gambling Ban
Online poker players in Germany have one fewer reason to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Jan. 1, 2008, will mark the beginning of a state-ratified online gambling ban in Germany, a move meant to safeguard the country's state monopolies on lotteries and other forms of online wagering.
The new online-wagering laws — which have been ratified 13 of the 16 German states, so far, which means the majority requirement has been met — ban any form of Internet gambling or the brokering of games online. The new rules allow the German states to order banks and financial institutions from transacting with Web sites offering online wagering (similar to what the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does in the U.S.) and to order Internet service providers to completely block those sites.
Advertisements for Internet gambling are also severely restricted as a result of the new rules. The regulations imposed on such advertising states that the ads may not "directly invite, incite, or prompt," people to gamble online, but they can still let potential customers know that Internet gambling is possible.
The Brussels-based European Commission, a regulator for the European Union, still has the opportunity to challenge Germany's new regulations. The Commission told Germany earlier this year that it thought a total ban on Internet gambling was excessive and asked the country to reconsider. Germany refused and set in place the ban that will become official tomorrow. The Commission can sue EU member states for failing to adhere to EU law and to force them to comply.
BY: SHAWN PATRICK GREEN | shawn.green@cardplayer.com
PUBLISHED: Monday Dec 31, 2007 11:28 AM
A Majority of German States Voted to Ratify Online Gambling Ban
Online poker players in Germany have one fewer reason to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Jan. 1, 2008, will mark the beginning of a state-ratified online gambling ban in Germany, a move meant to safeguard the country's state monopolies on lotteries and other forms of online wagering.
The new online-wagering laws — which have been ratified 13 of the 16 German states, so far, which means the majority requirement has been met — ban any form of Internet gambling or the brokering of games online. The new rules allow the German states to order banks and financial institutions from transacting with Web sites offering online wagering (similar to what the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act does in the U.S.) and to order Internet service providers to completely block those sites.
Advertisements for Internet gambling are also severely restricted as a result of the new rules. The regulations imposed on such advertising states that the ads may not "directly invite, incite, or prompt," people to gamble online, but they can still let potential customers know that Internet gambling is possible.
The Brussels-based European Commission, a regulator for the European Union, still has the opportunity to challenge Germany's new regulations. The Commission told Germany earlier this year that it thought a total ban on Internet gambling was excessive and asked the country to reconsider. Germany refused and set in place the ban that will become official tomorrow. The Commission can sue EU member states for failing to adhere to EU law and to force them to comply.