German Lotteries

The German lottery system is among the most developed in the world. The 16 German states have a unified lottery system. Products offered by Deutschen Lotto und Totoblock are the same in all the states and the prize pool is combined.

In 2006, commercial lottery agent JAXX won its action against the Free State of Bavaria to install lottery-ticketing terminals in supermarkets and filling stations. Munich's administrative judges concluded that the State Treaty on lotteries and the regionalization agreement among the federal states provided legal basis for over-the-counter sales of lottery products.

In June 2007, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that by limiting sales to their respective territories, German state lotteries were in violation of a German competition law, the Federal Competition Authority's decree of October 2006. This decision upheld an earlier ruling by the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf.

Until the passage of the 2008 Interstate Gambling Treaty, lottery products were offered online. Before the treaty went into effect in July 2012, there was a temporary ban on online lottery products. After July 2012, traditional lottery offerings, as well as sports and race betting products, were available online once again with a total of 20 licensed operators.