The German federal states had been preparing for a change in the law for local the top online casinos and providers of virtual sports betting for some time . According to the draft, which is currently circulating in the 16 federal states, the operators have time to continue serving the lucrative German market until July 2021, provided they adhere to a series of strict guidelines.
The proposal, which was recently accepted by the country representatives, covers the period from October 15, 2020 to July 1, 2021, after which the State Treaty (IT) will come into force. This is a huge relief for operators, some of whom feared their businesses would be closed pending the entry into force of the new legislation. Much like the cooling off phase observed by her colleagues in the nearby Netherlands.
The authorities confirmed in an official statement that the operators would not be punished as long as they adhere to the established rules. The transitional laws are currently being worked on by the European Union. If the new law is passed, a new tax structure for online gaming will be introduced, apart from the establishment of a state-wide regulatory authority, which may be located in Saxony-Anhalt, the eleventh largest state in terms of population and eighth largest in terms of area in Germany.
German operators have until October 15 to adhere to the transitional laws, after which no new permits will be issued. In addition, operators could have their licenses withdrawn if the new rules come into effect in July. While most of the large operators are expected to abide by the new laws, the new laws significantly reduce revenue streams.
This has been a major point of conflict between online casinos and government agencies that has led to numerous discussions and debates in the past. While some states felt that gambling should be liberalized, others felt completely different. Some states were quite vocal in favor of introducing licensing policies for online poker and casino operators, while some others advocated a total ban on such services.
This treaty is a good compromise between the numerous political groups and is expected to make all parties happy. According to initial forecasts, the income of online casinos is likely to be in the region of 50 million euros per month in the next year.
Online operators can offer multiple services such as sports betting, iGaming, poker and more under a single domain . But there must be independent areas that clearly separate each service from one another. For example, a person visiting the online casino section should not be able to access sports betting through the same platform.
Players will also need to set up individual accounts to access different platforms and operators will need to review each account before giving the green light. Current legislation does not stipulate how operators must check these access data. Further details are expected to be announced in the coming months.
The authorities also set an upper limit of € 1,000 per month per player on each platform, which means that if a player deposits € 600 with one operator, he will have € 400 left for the rest of the month if he signs up with a second operator.