The debate regarding the legality of online poker is been around in Europe for the last year of two, and has been tainted with different moral positions and arguments that vary depending of the jurisdiction. Several countries, including Denmark, Italy and France tried to ban online poker services; Denmark and Sweden approved an amendment prohibiting the use of online poker and established their own monopolies instead, however, the European Union have warned those countries under the premise that banning gambling violates the E.U trade agreements.

The latest addition in the list of European countries that want to decide once and for all if online poker is legal or not is Germany. Online poker is still floating in a legal limbo and its legality depends on the universal debate to determine which factor is more important in poker: luck or skill. The decision taken by Germany could set a significant precedent for the entire EU. Online poker is becoming very popular in Germany and as a result, players and the same gambling companies are pushing the authorities to ease Germany’s legal restrictions on gambling. This pressure is giving results and Germany may soon have to open its protected markets to private online poker companies.

Online poker operations infringe the new German Interstate Lottery Treaty effective since January 2008. According to the German Lottery Treaty, gambling licenses are given to companies under the control of the German Federal State, the Lottery Treaty also contains harsh requirements for online and offline games of chance, such as a making online gambling for real money illegal, and controls to keep online gaming companies from advertising online. Any violation of the Interstate Lottery Treaty is considered a criminal offense. The German legislators said that the only intention of the law is to prevent compulsive gambling; however, for many gaming experts the reason is to protect the German monopoly from biggest, strongest and more experienced competitors

But the only reason why poker is subject to the Lottery Treaty is because currently, Germany categorizes poker as a game of chance. If online poker was classified as a game of skill, it would be excluded from the Lottery Treaty. The legal basis to consider poker a game of chance consists exclusively of a court decision taken in 1906 that lacks of detailed reasons and simply establishes that poker must be classified as a game of chance because chance plays an important role in the game's results.

The German state monopoly has also found a number of legal problems; several courts and judges think the Lottery Treaty is against the German Constitution as well as the Freedom of Service provisions of the European Community Treaty, which has asked Germany to confirm if its Lottery Treaty meets the EU terms. If the Lottery Treaty violates the EC Treaty, it couldn’t be put in practice and Germany would need to write a new legislation. This would be a significant back for the European monopolies on gambling, and a significant improvement for online poker in the region.