SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Gluecksspiel (GGL) has taken full control of the regulatory duties of Germany’s Fourth Interstate Gambling Treaty (GlüNeuRStv) – assuming its responsibilities as the “common authority for German gambling”.
Yesterday, at a meeting in Halle, representatives of the nation’s 16 federal states met for the last time to dissolve the ‘Gambling Collegium’ a state-sanctioned body which served as GlüNeuRStv regime’s ‘temporary placeholder’ while GGL undertook its completion.
The GGL assumes full responsibility for all regulatory duties for German gambling, including licensing, technical accreditations, penalty enforcements, taxation, and market disputes of the GlüNeuRStv regime.
As a result, Germany ends its fragmented licensing policy as the GGL assumes the responsibility from “transitional federal states of Saxony-Anhalt (online poker/virtual slot machines), Hesse (sports and horse betting), Rhineland-Palatinate (public lotteries), Hamburg (state lotteries) and Lower Saxony (commercial game brokerage)”.
Based in Halle (Saxony-Anhalt), the GGL will be led by the co-leadership of Ronald Benter and Benjamin Schwanke as joint-Chief Executives.
The Board of Directors detailed: “We are looking forward to taking on around 20 very well-trained employees at the beginning of the year from the Saxony-Anhalt State Administration Office.”
The GlüNeuRStv regime was forced into existence on 1 July 2021, as federal states agreed on a regulatory framework to amend Germany’s interstate laws on gambling, to regulate online gambling services – a decision which followed 12 years of Bundesrat negotiations.
As it stands, the GlüNeuRStv regime comprises 35 sportsbook licences, with a further 15 operators taking on ‘Automatenspiele’ (casino/slot) licences, despite objections on taxation and wagering limits applied to online casino games.
The foundation of the GGL has been welcomed by DSWV – Germany’s sports betting trade association that previously stated that governance of the GlüNeuRStv was unsustainable under the Gambling Collegium.
DSWV and partner trade associations have called on the GGL to undertake an immediate review of GlüNeuRStv laws and product restrictions in 2023, deemed necessary to improve the legal market’s offering against unlicensed threats.
The leadership duo of Ronald Benter and Benjamin Schwanke has outlined the regulator’s initial duties to strengthen GlüNeuRStv protections for the benefit of German consumers, in which it will launch a federal registry for all gambling players to be monitored.
“We’re ready to go,” stated Schwanke. “We have set up the appropriate structures and processes to effectively regulate the online gaming market from January 1, 2023. In doing so, we can build on the experience of the Gambling College and the expertise in the countries, for which we are very grateful.”
