A German Federal Court ruling due later this week could provide some indication as to whether the ban on online lottery sales under Germany’s Interstate Gambling Treaty will come into effect as scheduled next year. Private lottery distributors, already suffering under the Treaty, are banking on obtaining legal protection from the Treaty’s full scope.

Confirmation that German state lotteries have renewed plans to introduce a competitor to the EuroMillions game alongside other national lottery companies has been met with surprise from observers who question how the introduction of €100m jackpot draws can possibly be justified under Germany’s new Interstate Gambling Treaty.

Analysts and legal experts expect the ECJ’s ‘Bwin Liga’ ruling will act to further freeze out those private internet gaming operators still active in the German market, but the country’s state monopolies may await further clarity from the European Court next year before expanding their own presence to the web.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will scrutinise Germany’s Interstate Gambling Treaty next month, but local gaming operators predict it will still be 2012 at the earliest before the German market opens up to private competition.

Two private German lottery operators have won a victory in their case against the activities of the state lottery cartel. While the decision is unlikely to halt the further implementation of the Interstate treaty in January, the prospect of a hefty compensation claim may cause the cartel operators to reconsider their approach.

The northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein has outlined its proposal for a national licensing system for online betting and gaming, though more powerful Lander are thought to remain opposed to liberalisation.

Germany has a complex regulatory environment for gambling, which is characterised by monopoly markets for lottery and betting in each of its 16 states.

With pressure growing from both its national courts and the European Commission to determine a coherent gambling policy, politicians charged with steering Germany towards new gambling legislation are showing signs of denial.

Doubts over the constitutionality of Germany’s Interstate Gambling Treaty have been settled by the German Federal Constitutional Court’s recent decision to throw out a challenge issued by private lottery company Tipp24, the country’s largest public lottery grouping has claimed.

In an unusual turn of event, the monopoly operator Westlotto has been found to be itself not licensed to operate sports betting in Nordrhein Westfalen.