The discussion on reform of the gambling market was reignited at the conference of FDP parliamentary party leaders, who this time cast their sights abroad. International experts in the fields of addiction research, economics, gambling regulation and law came together on Thursday in Berlin for the conference, entitled “The impact of the Interstate Gambling Treaty - consequences of the monopoly and opportunities for liberalising the gambling market.”

Kiel/Germany – According to the coalition agreement between the Christian-Democratic Party (CDU) and the Liberal Party (FDP), published on 17 October 2009, Schleswig-Holstein, one of the 16 German states (Länder), will cancel the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (Glücksspielstaatvertrag) and thereby end the state monopoly on gambling. According to Jürgen Koppelin, leader of the Liberal Party Schleswig-Holstein, other German states might follow the example of Schleswig-Holstein. If the Germans states can not agree on a new uniform regulation, CDU and FDF announced to consider a licensing system.

The president of VfB Stuttgart, Erwin Staudt, announced in a press conference in Frankfurt today that the football club had filed suit against the new Interstate Treaty on Gambling. The League Association (Ligaverband) of the German Bundesliga supported this move. Staudt argued for asking the Administrative Court of Stuttgart for protection: "We are convinced that the Interstate Treaty on Gambling is unconstitutional and not in conformity with EU law."