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 North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany has basically barred unemployed people from betting on sports. Back in March, the nation's biggest lottery operator, Westlotto, was banned from accepting "heavy bets" from those "who bet money far in excess of their revenues" and after a lengthy legal battle they have lost their appeal.
The ruling was basically designed to keep those who receive social security benefits from spending money on gambling. The court has still yet to clarify what constitutes a heavy bet saying that employees are expected to rely on their own judgment but as Westlotto spokesman Axel Webber stated, "To refuse to take a bet simply because of a suspicion would amount to discrimination, according to our reading of the law." He said that the ruling just showed that the court "is and remains out of touch with reality," and indicated that the company now intends to appeal the decision at the Higher Regional Court of Cologne.
The Association of German Lottery Resellers was of course outraged by the decision after the announcement they released a statement saying, "We are very irritated by the unrealistic and discriminatory decision of the Cologne court. How are we to verify that a potential punter is a recipient of Hartz IV aid? Should we ask people if they are poor and unemployed before filling out the betting slip?"
Germany's state unemployment benefits are blamed for all sorts of problems. Opponents of the support system say that it encourages illegal immigration, fraud, large poor families, and that it supports drug and gambling problems. About 7 million Germans currently receive benefits and it's doubtful that the majority of them are abusing the system, but that has not stopped the court from using situations like this to earn brownie pounds with concerned citizens.
As always, stay tuned to Casinofan for more news and updates.
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