In the last few days the European Commission has announced that following a three month consultation, the legislation that Germany wished to adopt next year must take into consideration factors such as the European Court of Justice’s judgement last September.

The ECJ ruled that Germany’s public monopoly on lotteries and sporting betting did not set out the objective of combating problem gambling in a consistent and systematic manner. The European Commission have given Germany until 18th August to respond gambling operators are hoping that the EC pressure will see a review of the planned laws and give them greater freedom to operate within Germany.

Publically traded gaming companies such as Bwin.party Digital Entertainment saw their share prices decline significantly when Germany unveiled its plans earlier this year.

Online bingo, casino, poker and sports betting companies are all watching new gambling legislation unfold in various companies. The UK government have only announced its plans this week to push through reform in legislation aimed at the online gaming industry which is likely to include a range of criteria to reduce problem gambling and increase revenues to the treasury.