European Gaming Lawyer magazine Spring 2014 | Page 23

CJEU considers these restrictions to be
inconsistent and contrary to the market
freedoms guaranteed in the EU Treaties,
the ban on online casinos will collapse
and legislation will have to be changed.
It is expected that the CJEU will deliver a
judgment on digibet later this year.
On account of its legislative venture
in 2012, Schleswig-Holstein was able to
issue online casino licences. These licences
continue to be valid for 6 years from the
date of issuance and may be extended for
another 4 years. The territorial scope of
the licences is limited with regard to the
organisation of the games, but through their
uniqueness they allow a distinction from
nation-wide competition. With regard to
advertising, the scope of the SchleswigHolstein licences arguably exceeds the
territory of Schleswig-Holstein. Thus,
cooperation between online casino licensees
of Schleswig-Holstein and land-based
operators could be a way to overcome
obstacles for advertising on TV and in the
internet while at the same time broadening
the customer base.
Challenges of convergence
When implementing a gaming convergence
business strategy, two areas may be
particularly challenging under German
gaming regulations: (1) joining the
land-based and online player account
and (2) payment transactions against the
background of AML requirements.
Creating a unique player account is
mandatory for the operators of online
gambling under the federal AML Act, the
Interstate Treaty and the Gaming Act of
Schleswig-Holstein. In order to open an
online account, the AML Act requires from
the operator a qualified identification of
the customer providing a higher level of
certainty than simply checking an ID card
copy. Such qualified identification may
include data from face-to-face match with
the ID card and is particularly difficult
to implement for online operations. This
is where online operators could benefit
from face-to-face check performed with
customers in the land-based premises.

Operators of state-licensed casinos and
gaming halls are not obliged to create
player accounts. A player or customer
card would further link the land-based
operation to the online player account.
By way of comparison, some operators of
sports betting, such as tipico, already offer a
customer card in Germany.
At federal level, the Ministry of Economy
has considered requiring operators of
gaming halls to hand out player cards to
their customers. Player cards are already
mandatory in countries like Austria,
Sweden, Norway and in some provinces
of Australia and Canada. In Germany,
issues under data protection laws as well
as technical realisation have hindered the
introduction of a personal player card as
yet, albeit these issues appear to be solvable.
A personal player card can be described
as a processing and storage medium, such
as a swipe card or smartcard, containing
personal data of the player which would be
used to identify him or her.
As for Schleswig-Holstein, developments
in sports betting regulation may be of
particular interest. This field has already
been addressed by the SchleswigHolstein regulator and illustrates
potential upcoming legislative incentives
for casino gaming. Specifically, the
Sports Betting Distribution Ordinance
(’Sportwettenvertriebsverordnung’),
released in 2013, requires licensees to issue a
personal customer card. Such card is linked
to the player account through a personal
identification number allocated by the
operator and may be used to conveniently
place wagers in betting shops.
Although this Ordinance does not
provide details on payment transactions, it
explicitly prohibits cash pay-outs of funds
or winnings deriving from online gaming
activity; the intention to combat money
laundering is obvious. This requirement is in
line with the AML Act which prescribes that
payment transactions may not be made with
anonymous payment methods and must
be linked to a payment account held with a
European financial institution or payment
service. As a consequence, a converged

gaming operation would have to ensure that
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