Late last week, it was announced that the states of Germany were able to reach an agreement to see a new gambling treaty created. The new agreement will see the cap placed on the number of sports betting licenses in the country done away with as well as the possibility of casino products being authorized.
The German Prime Minister’s Conference of Warnemunde issued a press release on Friday that stated that agreement was reached between the 16 German states based on the new State Treaty on Gambling (Glücksspielstaatsvertrag). The new changes will see the gambling industry vastly improve after being limited since the 2012 treaty was agreed upon.
The previous treaty had restricted sports betting licenses to a maximum of 20. This has now been done away with and licenses will be given based on quality standards. In fall of 2014, the country did issue 20 sportsbook licenses yet legal challenges by operators that were left without a license stopped those who were provided with the opportunity to offer services with the ability to do so. The European Union and courts of Germany have stated in the past that the original process of license application was flawed and needed to be changed.
Gaming regulators will also be studying the online gambling markets in Europe to analyze the actual development within the field of online casino offers. While this is not a true go-ahead with online gambling, it is encouraging that the country seems to have shifted from having nothing to do with online gaming to actually considering the activity.
Also part of the gaming regulation changes in Germany could include changing the monthly wagering limit set at €1k to a monthly loss limit of the same amount. The changes also call for a public institution to be created that will strengthen the enforcement action that is taken to thwart unauthorized operators of online gaming. The announcement of the treaty comes just a short time after changes were announced in regards to sports betting in the country.