Germany on Course to Launch New Federal Gaming Regulation

The state parliament of Sachsen-Anhalt ratified Germany’s Fourth Amendment on the State Treaty on Gambling (GlüNeuRStV), paving the way for a July 1, 2021 launch of the new gambling regulation.

Scheduled Launch Firmly in Sight

Sachsen-Anhalt was one of 3 remaining German states which had to officially approve the new gambling regulation, after the Treaty establishing a new federal regime regulating online gambling services had previously secured ratification from 13 other states.

The ratification issued by the state of Sachsen-Anhalt was important as the Treaty determined the location for the federal regulatory body to be there, besides expanding online betting to include online casinos and poker and legalize the verticals.

Welcoming Sachsen-Anhalt’s decision to ratify the Treaty, DSWV, the country’s Sports Betting Association aired some of the concerns related to taxation and significantly restricted gaming environment across all gaming verticals.

Many Unresolved Issues Remain

Mathias Dahms, President of DSWV outlined the ratification marked the beginning of a new age of gaming regulation in the country, noting that federal states are now given rights to lawfully regulate online games of chance and grab a hold of the market.

“Consumers benefit from clarity and security: providers with a state seal of approval meet the highest standards of consumer and youth protection, gambling addiction and fraud prevention.”

Mathias Dahms, President, DSWV

He then raised concerns that the Treaty is far from the finished article as further reforms are needed, especially with regards to taxation and tight gambling restrictions, if the regulatory market is to be set on stable footing.

The President of DSWV underscored that current arrangements would be accepted by industry players only as temporary and states need to address the high tax rate of 5.3% on online poker and slot machines, as well as in-play wagering restrictions related to sports betting.

“Because in the end only the black market profits from this, no other country in Europe taxes the stakes in virtual slot machine games, but always the gross gaming revenue – the actual revenue of the gaming provider.”

Mathias Dahms, President, DSWV

Mathias Dahms further appealed to the members of the Parliament to carefully consider draft racing, betting and lottery legislation, and deal with it in greater depth and address some of the issues which require drastic changes.

As per the Treaty requirements, licensed gaming operators will have to register individual player details with each state’s gambling registry, a cost-consuming exercise that would further erode an operators’ profitability. The DSWV also questioned the need for a central supervisory agency in Halle to be established.