Hope at last for German online gambling
News on 29 Oct 2016
News on 29 Oct 2016
On Friday a press release from a German prime minister’s conference boosted hopes that the chaotic and frustrating regulatory scene in regard to online gambling policy in Germany may at last be on the road to a fair and logical reorganisation.
The release notes that Germany’s sixteen lande (provinces) have reached broad agreement on a new State Treaty on Gambling which will remove the inconsistencies in the present 2012 treaty that have been so widely condemned by the courts and the European Commission, and have frustrated operators to the point where they have resorted to litigation.
The situation has effectively paralysed the licensing infrastructure, and progress can hopefully now be made.
Probably the most important change is the lifting of the restrictions which made only 20 sports betting licenses available; this will now be replaced with a sensibly uncapped system in which minimum quality standards are the criteria and licenses are awarded when these are met.
A possible answer to speculation on why Germany was recently a participant in talks on player sharing with other European nations (see previous bulletins) is also contained in the press release, which reveals that German regulatory staff have been tasked with investigating developments in the international online casino gambling sector.
That implies that the previously implacable opposition to licensed online casino gaming in Germany has been replaced by a more realistic and pragmatic approach that could at last give German internet and mobile punters an opportunity to play on German licensed and regulated websites.
Other changes concern consumer protection issues like monthly loss limits, and the formation of a new enforcement organisation to deal with unlicensed intrusions into the sector.
The press release is in German, but can be accessed in full here:
