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The Deutscher Sportwettenverband (DSWV), a group comprised of German gaming operators has called for federal states to eliminate the need for holders of sports betting lic1enses to cease their online casino operations—until the new State Treaty becomes officially the law.
Germany will soon offer legal online casino games with its Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvertrag (GlüNeuRStV). Online casinos in Germany will start accepting players from July 1, 2021, with strict regulations. The DSWV argues that the legalisation of online casinos needs transitional regulations in order to be effective.
According to Mathias Dahms, DSWV president, the GlüNeuRStV should allow sportsbook operators with licenses to provide gaming options until June 30, 2021.
This would help ensure that existing customers are gambling legally, instead of forcing them to find black market sources to gamble with. Without a transitional period, Dahms says existing online gamblers will either have to stop gambling, or do so illegally.
The DSWV holds that customers must be allowed to continue gambling in a protected, legal environment, until another legal alternative is set into place.
The state responsible for sports betting licenses Hesse has firmly held that all operators seeking a license must cease all casino operations before their application. Failure to comply would bring regulatory measures and payment blocking actions.
GlüNeuRStV’s Strict Regulations Criticised by DSWV
The current version of the GlüNeuRStV compels operators to place a €1 cap on a spin slot stake, the duration of which must last at least five seconds, prohibits autoplay functions and bans any slot jackpots. Slots must be offered separate from other casino games, and will be under a different license. Individual states will have the right to decide for themselves whether their state lotteries will maintain their monopoly on draw-based games to cover similar casinos games such as blackjack and roulette.
The draft also holds that the third State Treaty will have a number of strict regulations on sports betting, including the limitation of bets to just the final result of a game or the next scorer. The DSWV believes that it is up to the GlüNeuRStV to amend their regulations so that it takes into consideration the current conditions of the gambling industry. DSWV has warned that a strict set of regulations could damper innovation in legal gambling, causing customers to flock to the black market.
Deliberations on the GlüNeuRStV will continue until March 5, when the 16 Minister-Presidents of Germany’s states will meet to finalise the regulations for submission to the European Commission. If approved, the regulations will be implemented in 2021.
