A German court has thrown a wrench into the federal government’s latest plan to bring its sports betting laws into compliance with local and European Union standards.

Last Friday, the Administrative Court of Wiesbaden ruled that the government had no authority under European Union law to place an arbitrary cap on the number of sports betting licenses. The case had been launched by betting operator Tipico, which wasn’t among the 20 recipients of the licenses Germany announced in September 2014. Legal challenges by the likes of Tipico have prevented these 20 licenses from being issued and/or taking effect.

The Wiesbaden court echoed previous rulings that found the license application process vaguely defined and unnecessarily complex. The court also agreed with a Hessian court ruling last October that found the process had discriminated against non-German companies in other EU member states.

Tipico CEO Jan Bolz said the Wiesbaden court’s ruling “clearly states that Tipico meets all qualitative criteria to obtain a sports betting license in Germany and that there cannot be any doubt about the legality of our business activities. As the leading provider, we will do our part and continue to constructively help paving the way for legally compliant regulations in Germany.”