Operators challenge German sports betting proximity ban

| By Marese O'Hagan
The constitutional court in the German state of Baden-Württemberg will hear a case from four operators challenging a ban on operating sports betting facilities in the same building as casinos and gaming halls.

Section 21 (2) of Germany’s First State Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV) prohibits sports betting and casino activities from taking place in the same building.

Germany’s Fourth State Treaty on Gambling came into force in July 2021.

The complaint states that administrative courts did not provide adequate protection for operators that had sports betting facilities in the same building as casino activities, when the GlüStV and, subsequently, section 21 (2) was enacted.

The complaint also cites a lack of temporary protection.

Section 42 (1) of the LGüG – Baden-Württemberg’s state-level gambling act, which was brought in in 2012 – states that gambling facilities must be at least 500 meters apart, measured from entrance door to entrance door.

The complaint will be discussed on 21 November 2022 at the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart.

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