German Sports Unite in Support of State Treaty

The German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB) has approved a text on the future of gaming and betting in the country, uniting in support of the State Treaty on Gaming and calling for a continuation of the country's gaming prohibition beyond 2012 and a strengthening of the rights of sports organisers.

The text was prepared by a working group consisting of representatives of professional and national sports federations and is said to take into consideration 'recent legal judgments at the European Court of Justice'.

According to DOSB President Thomas Bach, both the German Football Federation and the German Football League also support the position, allowing the German sports world 'to speak with one voice when the State Treaty is evaluated next year'.

The text states the need for contributions from traditional games of chance to support the financing of organised sports in Germany, the strengthening of sports owners rights in relation to those of betting providers and a forging of closer relationships between organised sports and the German Lotto block.

It also calls for a State Treaty on Gaming 2 in order to 'maintain and further secure the state monopoly and the integrity of sports from 2012 onwards' and requires the federation to take a concrete stand and to exercise greater influence on the political debate.

The position statement from the DOSB coincided with the start of hearings at the European Court of Justice to consider the compatibility of the German State Treaty with European law, which has been consistently questioned by numerous German courts as well as individual states and corporate bodies.