SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
German market frustrations continue as the Bundesländer of Saxony-Anhalt has republished its whitelist of approved GlüNeuRStv regime operators, which has once again featured no take-up of online casino, slots or poker licences.
The update sees the Bundesländer continue its regulatory lag. Last Autumn the State Administrative Office of Saxony-Anhalt declared that no businesses had applied to be licensed for the online casino, slots or poker criteria of the GlüNeuRStv regime.
However, six months following the launch of GlüNeuRStv, Germany’s much-derided federal online gambling regime. Several of the 35 licensed foreign and domestic sports operators notified that they had applied to extend their sportsbook offerings with further online gambling verticals.
These operators are reported to have been frustrated by the licencing framework applied to GlüNeuRStv applications, as incumbents require approval by two-thirds majority of members of the Glücksspielkollegium.
Made up of 16 Bundesländer members, the Glücksspielkollegium serves as a ‘coordinating body’ of the GlüNeuRStv regime, that was established as a temporary committee to ensure that the interests of individual lander are maintained by new gambling laws and licences.
Under the existing framework, further licence approvals have been halted due to continued disagreements between Glücksspielkollegium members.
Glücksspielkollegium quarrels have frustrated Saxony-Anhalt as the lander that was designated as the temporary regulator of GlüNeuRStv regime, which has seen no further take-up of new sportsbook licences.
Rules set by the Bundestag Germany’s Federal Assembly state that the Glücksspielkollegium must disband by 31 December 2022, in order for the market to be governed by Glücksspielbehörde – the new federal gambling regulator that will be by established by the executive of Saxony-Anhalt.
Aiming to take charge of the market in 2023, incumbents hope that the Glücksspielbehörde will solve GlüNeuRStv regime structural issues with regards to licensing, advertising rules, interstate disputes, tax, technical accreditations and defining level-playing field rules between competing operators.
