Germany has proposed a new gaming law for online gaming that would, among other things, allow casinos. Still, the law contains restrictions that have not previously been seen in re-regulated markets in Europe. It reports the industry site iGamingbusiness on Wednesday.
A re-regulation of the German gaming market was introduced on January 1 2020. However, the licensing system only covered sports betting, while online casino gaming is not permitted. Now, however, the federal states have agreed on a bill that will also allow online casino games. The federal governments must approve the law on March 12 and in such a case is expected to enter into force on July 1, 2020.
However, the proposal is controversial as it contains a number of restrictions that have not been seen before in any re-regulated EU markets. According to Igamingbusiness, many operators predict that the law risks leading to a sharp increase for unlicensed operators in the so-called grey market.
One of the more controversial points is that players should not be able to deposit more than 1,000 euros in total with all private operators, i.e. it will not be possible to lose more than 1,000 euros per month. However, the rule does not apply to land-based operators and state lotteries.
For sports betting, the number of variants of live betting will be limited to only betting on final results. Bets on who scores the next goal, position after half time, etc., will therefore not be allowed.
For slot games at the casino, the maximum bet is limited to 1 euro per game, and each game must be at least five seconds long, the usual length is usually 2-3 seconds in regulated markets. So-called “auto-play” will also be banned, and betting on several slots at the same time will also not be possible.
For the player who transfers money from one sub-account to another with an operator must also wait an hour before the money can be used on the new form of play.
