Germany’s 16 States Could Nix Online Casino, Poker Ban

The heads of Germany’s 16 states have achieved a breakthrough in negotiations on the future of the nation’s online gambling industry, according to reports from local news outlets.

Germany adopted an experimental sports betting regime on January 1, 2020 that was authorized in the so-called Third State Treaty on Gambling. The new regime enabled interested sports betting operators to apply for licenses from German regulators and operate in a regulated environment.

The experimental regulatory framework will remain in force through June 30, 2021, while German lawmakers discuss and hopefully adopt a new, permanent legislation by that time.

It emerged earlier this week that the country’s 16 states have made significant progress in negotiating the provisions of a new State Treaty on Gambling. Leaders of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein said that the model they and fellow lawmakers from the nation’s other states have agreed on represented a “really good result” for all concerned jurisdictions.

The newly discussed regulatory framework will lift the current ban on the provision of online casino and poker services. Sports betting will continue to be legal if and when the new State Treaty on Gambling is adopted.

This means that interested operators will be able to apply for and obtain licenses to provide online slots and table games as well as online poker on the territory of Germany.

New Regulator

A new gambling regulation authority will be established under the new regime, it also became known. The agency will be tasked with accepting and processing license applications for the various online gambling activities that will be permitted to be conducted across Germany’s 16 states.

It became known that while the new regulator will be issuing national licenses, each individual state will be able to craft and implement its own regulations and technical requirements for the provision of online casino services.

The head of Schleswig-Holstein, Dirk Schrödter, said this week that the gambling legislation currently under discussion would pave the way for the introduction of a “sufficiently attractive” gambling environment that would “ensure the channeling of gambling” into the regulated market and away from the black market.

The legalization of online casino and poker products has been an issue over which there has been continued disagreement between the leaders of Germany’s 16 states. While Schleswig-Holstein has been a long-time champion of the legalization of these products, many other states have opposed their addition to the list of legal online gambling practices.

It is still unclear where the new national regulator will be located. Lawmakers are also yet to determine the structure under which online casino and poker activities will be taxed as well as other controls that would regulate the industry, including gambling advertising rules.

The Regional Council of Darmstadt, the body tasked with reviewing sports betting license applications, has received 11 applications from sports betting operators since the Third Treaty on Gambling took effect earlier this month. Another seven applications are expected to be submitted by interested operators in the coming weeks.

The Third Treaty on Gambling removed a previous cap on the number of licenses up for grabs, but as it can be seen interest has been mild so far.

Late last year, online gambling giant bet365 indicated that it would pursue a German sports betting license by shutting its online casino in the country in line with the newly adopted rules.

Source: Schleswig-Holstein hails “breakthrough” in German gambling talks

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