According to the German Association for Information Technology, Telecommunications and New Media (BITKOM) Germany risks infringement procedures on the part of the EU, if the federal states stick to their planned ban on internet gambling. In contrast to the governments of the German Länder the EU Commission is against the discrimination of electronic media.
The deadline for the German Länder to amend this controversial draft of a state treaty on gambling was yesterday. However, they ignored it. »By these blocking tactics the Länder obviously want to strenghten their state monopoly on gambling«, critizises Mr. Mosch, managing director with BITKOM. A ban would mainly affect private brokers and frivolously put at risk thousands of jobs in Germany. »If lotto providers in Germany are criminalised, we will leave this growing market to foreign companies«, says Mr Mosch. The official justification according to which the ban is to fight the danger of compulsive gambling is not convincing to BITKOM. The danger is not bigger than in the context of gambling over public receiving offices. 