Cracks in German online gambling accord

Discord is becoming apparent in the German online gambling industry as some state politicians are questioning the wisdom of the Inter-State Treaty on Gambling.

The 16 federal states have combined to push through a joint agreement on gambling, which is a compromise between the fiercely opposed states and those that favour legislating the industry.

At a hearing in the federal Interior Ministry at the end of last week, one of the states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, asked why it should allow online casinos within its boundaries.

Its representative, René Domke, insisted that the Inter-State Treaty was not obligatory on all of the states and said his own state did not need it.

He said that his state was being forced to apply unworkable rules that permitted each state to issue limited licences or offer a state monopoly.