Lower Saxony's Higher Administrative Court rules on shutting down gaming halls.
The Higher Administrative Court (OVG) in Lüneburg has provided insight into the closure of amusement arcades. Two of the 130 ongoing appeal cases have been decided upon, with one result showing that compound gambling halls must be shut down and lottery procedures for decision-making are currently inadmissible.
According to a press release from the Lower Saxony authority, since July 2017, gaming arcades have had to observe a minimum distance from the nearest arcade and youth facilities in all federal states. Additionally, a ban on interconnection, which forbids the merging of previously separate arcades into one building complex, is now in effect. This means that it's not allowed to bypass the minimum distance regulation by forming associations. In Lower Saxony, establishments must be at least 100m apart.
In the first case, the operator of two amusement arcades challenged the decision to close one of his establishments. The arcades were in the same building, resulting in them being subject to the interconnection ban. The Administrative Court of First Instance (VG) upheld the decision to shut down the arcade, so the operator filed an urgent application for legal protection until the Higher Administrative Court could decide. The VG rejected the application, and the OVG has now affirmed this decision. The judges stated that the interconnection ban is in line with both federal and EU law, with only exceptional cases deserved for exemptions. However, the plaintiff had not convincingly presented such a case, leading to the closure of one of his businesses as per the law. This ruling cannot be appealed further, so it could be a precursor for similar situations.
Lottery procedure questionable
In the second case, the town of Lingen tried to shut down a gaming arcade using a lottery procedure. The arcade was within 60m of the nearest gaming facility, prompting an appeal from the losing operator. The administrative court of first instance ruled in favor of the operator, asserting that the city should have made its decision based on "objective differentiation criteria" instead of conducting a lottery. The town of Lingen then lodged an appeal against this. The Higher Administrative Court, specifically the 11th Senate of the OVG Lüneburg, has now dismissed this appeal. The judges expanded upon the reasoning of the first instance, stating that the closure of a business infringes on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of occupation. Therefore, there must be a legal basis for the used procedure. There was no such basis in Lower Saxony, as the state law didn't provide for a lottery procedure.
This decision is irreversible and could place pressure on politicians. Given that many municipalities in Lower Saxony are planning to decide the fate of their gaming arcades through lottery or have already done so, operators may be successful with their complaints. It's up to the state parliament to establish the procedure to be used. But if MPs decide in favor of the lottery procedure, the operators' hopes would have been short-lived. Even over five years after the gambling law reform, the status of several arcades remains uncertain.
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Source: www.onlinecasinosdeutschland.com
