It was recently announced that the 16 states that comprise the country of Germany decided to disband the currently online gambling monopoly. While it was originally thought to be good news for online casino operators, it was discovered that things were not as beneficial as they appeared.
One of the biggest problems was revealed this week, as a recent report indicates that the decision to legalize and regulate online gambling was not a unanimous one. In fact, many of the states have differing opinions on how the regulation would work.
For example, Sachsen-Anhalt thinks that the best route is to legalize online casinos that are owned by land-based operators. This regime seems to resemble the current gambling legislations in the United States, where land-based operators within a particular state can run online gambling websites. On the other hand, Schleswig-Holstein is opting for a more liberal approach, resembling the French gambling regulation.
This could lead to a fragmented online gambling market, resembling the state of the current online casino industry across Europe. The European Union is currently looking to harmonize the market, and differing legislations across Germany would counteract these plans.
