Germany's Gambling Market in the focus at Mbgs 2018 with David Lommatzsch (German Online Casino Association)

The organizers of Mare Balticum Gaming Summit 2018 are excited to announce that the event will also feature a discussion about the state of the gambling industry in Germany and what is to be expected this year.

Germany’s online gambling market remains pretty tangled mess, with the country’s individual states at loggerheads over how to regulate online sports betting. Online casino operations remain verboten outside the state of Schleswig-Holstein following a federal administrative court ruling last October. (Source: CalvianAyre.com) Germany’s Interstate Treaty on Gambling has hit a setback last year in October, after the Schleswig-Holstein government officially voted down on the amendments that were implemented to the legislative piece back in March 2017. Germany’s northernmost state also revealed plans for the introduction of its own gambling regulation framework that would include expanded online gambling options. The Interstate Treaty on Gambling was first presented back in 2012. In general, it proposed the legalization and regulation of online sports betting services within Germany’s borders. The piece of legislation needed approval from the governments of all 16 states, in order to come into force. Schleswig-Holstein was the last state to confirm compliance with it. The country’s new law back then was highly contested for placing a limit on the number of interested operators that could enter the local market. Under the treaty, only 20 online sports betting licenses were to be issued. That cap resulted in the European Commission declaring the regulatory framework one that violated EU principles for the free distribution of services across the union. In March 2017, the Interstate Treaty on Gambling was amended slightly, with German lawmakers being hopeful that the changes introduced would finally please EU authorities and the market would be regulated in 2018. Instead of completely removing the controversial limit on the number of licensees allowed, the legal piece only extended the previously imposed cap to 40 from 20. In June, the new Schleswig-Holstein government indicated that it was not particularly content with the amendments implemented and that it would probably not approve the treaty in its latest form. (Source: casinonewsdaily.com) The latest announced speaker, David Lommatzsch, will join the discussion and give some insights about the German market. It is an important discussion based on the agenda of the German regulator, which highlight a key meeting this year in the fall. David Lommatzsch (M.A.) is a political consultant for economic, financial and consumer policies at von Beust & Coll. since 2017. He advises companies and associations on political positioning and organizes the representation of their interests in legislative processes. Acting as Managing Director of the German Online Casino Associations (DOCV) he is also heading the political work of the online casino industry in Germany. As a public affairs specialist, he focuses on political strategy, targeted information management, and exchange with political decision-makers. Before joining von Beust & Coll., David Lommatzsch was an analyst at the strategy consultancy, Advicepartners GmbH. While being with Advicepartners, he organized the successful foundation of the DOCV. David Lommatzsch studied Political Science and European Studies at Maastricht University in the Netherlands and earned his Master’s degree in Political Economics in Berlin. The German Online Casino Association (DOCV) has been introduced to a wider public at the annual Excellence in Gaming (EiG) industry fair in Berlin. Leading companies from the online casino market founded the association in Kiel on July 25. The DOCV represents licensed providers and developers, who are promoting a legal framework for reliable offers in which the market forces can have a controlling effect. The rules must be able to keep pace with the development of the Internet and must be based on the actual behavior of the players to effectively control all online casino offers. The question is not “whether” there should be a regulation, but “how”. Gioco News is media partner of Mare Balticum Gaming Summit.