SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
Online sports betting operators looking to acquire a license for the federal German market have been ordered to cut ties with online casinos and other unregulated forms of gambling as the market moves towards heightened compliance measures.
Earlier in July, the Regional Council of Darmstadt – which has been tasked with overseeing Germany’s transition into a regulated online betting market – issued the ruling by which potential sports betting licensees must commit to not offering any form of unregulated gambling options.
As it stands, only sports betting is only permitted, meaning that those operators offering any other forms of gambling will have to halt these before gaining a sports betting licence.
The German Online Casino Association president Dr Dirk Querman said: “Channeling the existing demand for online gambling offerings by creating a modern legal system would on one hand create legal certainty, improve the range of products on offer, remove barriers to market entry and bring black market operators into the regulated sector.
“On the other hand, It would allow for efficient regulatory action against non-compliant and unlawful operators.”
This commitment is just one of the criteria that licensing applicants must fulfill, along with providing financial information and proof of additional licenses. It has also been confirmed that the licensing process will begin in January 2020.
In order for these licenses to be granted, the eligible companies must also ensure that associated affiliates also remove themselves from any unauthorised gambling activity.
