Part 3: Germany – a pregnant pause
Part 3: Germany – a pregnant pause
W
hile both the UK and Sweden display by the current regulatory tangle, which, on the
the wisdom of the saying ‘be careful face of it, provides them with very little cover for
what you wish for’ in terms of their current operations. While sports betting
regulating gambling jurisdictions, the latest moves has for some time received the official nod – in
by various German legislatures show that hoping terms of paying tax at least – until a new Treaty is
for the status quo in grey territories to continue is agreed, the proposed restrictions are somewhat
likely also a forlorn hope. onerous. These include the monthly deposit limit
However, there are reasons why operators
could be hopeful that the most recent agreement
between the states might – with a fair wind – lead
of €1,000, as well as restrictions on what live
betting can be offered.
Add in the ban on online gaming, and Germany
to a better–than-was-previously-thought-would- would be a very unattractive market indeed for
be-the-case regime. any regulated entity. Hence, many have predicted
Indeed, if we take Hans-Jörn Arp, a CDU
that the black market would continue to thrive.
member of the state parliament of Schleswig- Such a situation would present the biggest of
Holstein at his word, then the recent ministers’ the current market participants with something of
conference at the end of March could well signal a quandary. Continued participation would mean
the end of the current Treaty impasse. attempting to compete with more than one arm
tied behind their backs while their competition
‘Breakthrough’ at last could continue to offer from outside of Germany
“Today’s decision of the Minister President a much better and more attractive offering.
Conference to present the foundations for follow-up Moreover, if they continued in defiance of
regulations to the State Treaty on Gambling, means the authorities, they could then run the risk of
we have finally achieved a breakthrough after 10 prosecution. This would likely be unconscionable
years, and gained recognition from the other federal to the biggest listed names prevalent in the
states,” Arp told iGaming Business at the time. market today. After all, such actions tend not to
This was backed up by comments from Wulf
go down well with shareholders.
Hambach, Stefan Bolay and Stefanie Fuchs of
leading German law firm Hambach & Hambach, The known market
who stated that by mid-2021 all verticals – Still, almost despite the regulatory situation, the
including the currently banned online gaming – market in Germany is clearly performing very well
would be regulated. going by the latest figures from the market leaders.
This would spell very good news for the market
leaders such as GVC, The Stars Group and Bet- GVC
at-home, which each to varying degrees have Foremost among them is GVC, which operates
worked on both sides of the regulatory and tax the Bwin, Casino Club, PartyPoker and
fence in Germany and profited hugely as a result. PartyCasino brands in the country. According
As it stands, each is hampered to some degree
to a company presentation from August last
iGaming Business Market Monitor • UK bingo market, Sweden and Germany • June 2019
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