The European Court of Justice faces a fresh challenge to Germany’s state-controlled gambling framework following a referral from the Hamburg Higher Administrative Court. The case, Lotto24 v Gemeinsame Glücksspielbehörde der Länder (Case C-515/26), published in the Official Journal of the European Union, calls into question the compatibility of regional lottery brokerage rules with European Union competition law.
At the heart of the dispute is Germany’s State Treaty on Gambling (GlüStV), which enforces a strict territorial authorization system. Under this framework, commercial brokers like Lotto24 AG can only mediate state-run lotteries in a specific Land (federal state) if the lottery operator—a state-owned enterprise—holds an authorization to organize lotteries within that same Land. Even though these state lotteries are offered across all German states under uniform conditions, private brokers remain tethered to state-by-state licensing constraints.
The referring court asks the CJEU to clarify whether this territorial restriction breaches Article 106(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) when read alongside Articles 101 and 102, which govern anti-competitive agreements and the abuse of dominant positions. By limiting brokerage rights to state-by-state borders while state-owned monopolies enjoy nationwide reach, the regime may grant public lotteries an unfair competitive advantage that impermissibly distorts the internal market.
Should the Luxembourg court confirm that the authorization scheme conflicts with primary EU competition rules, the case hinges on potential justifications. The German court has asked whether state-owned lottery operators qualify as undertakings entrusted with services of general economic interest under Article 106(2) TFEU. If they do, the court must decide whether the strict restriction on brokers is necessary for these companies to fulfill their public tasks, or whether the measure fails the EU’s established consistency standard by serving protectionist interests rather than genuine regulatory goals.
A ruling against the German regulator would disrupt the long-standing territorial monopolies of the state lotteries, opening up the nationwide market to private digital brokers and forcing structural reforms in how gambling services are authorized across federal lines.
