We speak with managers, directors, shareholders and personalities from the casino industries. ISA-CASINOS analyzes current affairs and interesting for you. Today we speak with Mr. Michael Seegert, acting partner of the casino Bad Neuenahr.

In our first two editions of Betting-Law-News this year, we reported on the case of „Real Madrid vs. Bookmakers“. Recently, a Paris court decided in favour of the bookmakers: Sports Betting Sites vs. Real Madrid 1 – 0. The Real Madrid team and five of its world-class players (Real Madrid Club de Football,Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, Raul Gonzalez Blanco, Ronaldo Nazario de Lima, LuisFilipe Madeira Caeiro) brought proceedings against various sports betting sites claimingviolation of their personal rights.

Several complaints (including from the European Betting Association, EBA) have been made against Germany as well as other countries for infringements of European Law. The state monopoly on sports betting, which exists in Germany (and in the other member states concerned, e.g., Portugal) is considered to be in breach of the freedom of services guarantee contained in the EC Treaty due to the fact that the regulations mainly do not allow for any exceptions to the state monopoly....

What does this decision mean for the future of German gambling law ? In its decision of the 24th of February 2005 (KKO: 2005: 27), which has now been issued in a certified translation, the Finnish Supreme Court (FSC) dealt with the compatibility of the Finnish Lottery Law with the jurisprudence of the ECJ; in particular, its exclusive right to organise gambling and the criminal law protection of this exclusivity in light of compatibility with Art. 49 of the EU Treaty.

The long awaited seminal decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the organisation of sports betting by private providers (Case no: 1BvR 1054/01) is now no longer expected this year. At the start of the year, the final decision was anticipated in Summer 2005 and recently it was to be expected in Autumn 2005, which was even confirmed by spokespersons for the Federal Constitutional Court.

It took longer than most would have expected, but now the proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) approach the final round.
Last week the 1st Senate ruling upon the constitutional complaint with the case no. 1 BvR 1054/01 decided to hold a hearing on the case.
As the press office communicated today, this hearing in going to take place on

Das Casino Baden-Baden hat am vergangenen Freitag, dem 17. Juli 2005, mit einer Lifestyle- und Modenshow sich selbst übertroffen. In Zusammenarbeit mit den ortsansässigen Geschäften wurde den Besuchern vorgeführt, wie einfach es ist, einen netten Abend "im schönsten Casino Deutschlands" zu verbringen, so die Moderatorin der Show.

New report and survey analyze the growing trend toward privatizing state-controlled gambling operations.

Aktuelle Studie untersucht die Möglichkeiten und Risiken einer Privatisierung von staatlichen Glücksspielmonopolen

According to a report in today's economic magazine "Handelsblatt" the EU Commission is planning to initiate an action for infringement of the EC Treaty against Germany. In the Commission's opinion the state gambling monopoly in place in Germany in particular infringes the freedom to provide services as provided for by the EC Treaty. This action for infringement of the treaty is governed by Art. 226 of the EC Treaty and is composed of several steps. First, after an informal finding of the facts, the Commission notifies the concerned state formally, thus formally initiating the action.

Im Jahr 1998, kurz nachdem er und sein Vater Selwyn Demmy ihre Wettbürokette (Demmy Betting) verkauft hatten, gründete er sein erstes Online Wettbüro. Die folgenden zwei Jahre beschreibt Tim Johnson, ein Buchmacher in der vierten Generation, als "sehr schmerzhafte Erfahrung mit einer Technologie, die einfach noch nicht bereit war". Dem Chefredakteur, Reinhold Schmitt von ISA-CASINOS, stand er Rede und Antwort

In 1998 after selling the chain of Demmy betting shops he ran with his father and bookmaker Selwyn Demmy, he launched his first online sportsbook. Tim Johnson a fourth-generation bookmaker, he described the 2 years that followed as "sheer pain with technology that wasn't really ready".
He welcomes and answers the questions Reinhold Schmitt Editor in Chief of ISA-CASINOS.