German Legislators Approve New Gambling Regulations

German legislators have approved the new gambling regulations that would legalise online poker and casino from 1 July 2021. A decision was also made on the location of the country’s new regulatory authority.

Each of the German state parliaments must ratify the Glücksspielneuregulierungstaatsvertrag (GlüNeuRStv) bill, which intends to take the regulated igaming market into the online betting realm. It also requires approval from the European Commission.

The market will be supervised by a new regulatory authority, established through the GlüNeuRStV, based in Sachsen-Anhalt. The likes of Nordrhein-Westfalen, Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse were all understood to be interested in hosting this body.

Not much changes have been made in the draft GlüNeuRStV bill that was published for the public. It means while sports betting, online poker and online casino games including slots will indeed be permitted, they can only be offered with significant restrictions.

For sports betting, this limits live betting to markets on the final result or next scorer. Slots will be subject to a €1 per spin stake limit and must be offered separately to table games, with no autoplay function and no jackpots.

The mandatory deposit limit of €1000 across all providers first included in the third State Treaty will remain in effect, while operators will not be allowed to advertise between 6 am and 9 pm.

Before the GlüNeuRStV comes into force, the third State Treaty remains in place, limiting the market to online betting until 30 June 2021.