GERMANS NOT IN FAVOUR OF GAMBLING LIBERALISATION

21 September 2007

But how were the questions phrased in this lotteries and sportsbetting study?


The protective stance taken by German politicians when it comes to the country's state monopolised gambling industry is well known and the subject of warnings from the European Commission, but does the German man-in-the-street support a greater liberalisation of the industry?

Apparently not, according to a report in Interactive Gaming News this week, which reveals that during a television debate a study commissioned by the Deutscher Lotto und Totoblock claimed that only 10 percent of German residents were in favor of gambling liberalisation.

Although working with a small sample - only 1 013 respondents - the study conducted by research group Forsa reported some interesting highlights:

10 percent of respondents were in favor of liberalising the gambling market.

76 percent of respondents were in favor of a system where gambling is controlled by the government.

61 percent of respondents said that gambling and related promotion should be minimised.

1 percent of respondents would like to have other gambling products.

It is hardly surprising that the study found that a large percentage of German consumers assume that State supervision offers more security and reliability than could that of commercial operators.

Without sight of the nature and the manner in which questions were phrased, how respondents were chosen or the analytical process used it is difficult to assess the real value of any study, but the commissioning of the Forsa research prior to the early 2008 date proposed for the final ratification of the German Interstate Lotteries Treaty may indicate a more cynical interest than simply canvassing the ordinary German's opinion.

In its current form, this controversial treaty between the sixteen German states prohibits all forms of Internet gambling in Germany, with the [usual] exception of horserace betting, and extends the monopoly on lotteries and sports betting services to..... the Lotto- und Totoblock for an additional four years, until 2012!

It is likely to bring the Germans into further confrontation with a European Commission intent on ensuring the free passage of trade and services on which the 27 nation European Union is based.

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