Feb2
Hölle Games and Apparat Gaming Forge a German Gaming Revolution
Schleswig-Holstein Pushes Towards Online Gambling Extension Legislation
March 20, 2019 Jim Murphy
The province of with the strongest internationally recognized gambling jurisdiction, Schleswig-Holstein, has been under a lot of pressure lately with their online casino licenses expiring at large recently.
The tate’s lawmakers and gambling authorities are now working on a piece of legislation that should effectively extend these licenses until at least 2021.
It would be an ad hoc solution, only serving as a bridge until the province issues new licenses…
…because it would permit existing operators who currently have an expired license to continue offering their services based on the previous approval handed to them by Schleswig-Holstein.
All Eyes on Proverbial German Efficiency
According to the new piece, this German state would tax operators’ gross gaming revenue at 20%, which presents no departure from existing rates under the current set of laws.
Even so, these new licenses would be VERY temporary…
…and would expire after June 30th 2021. The province has plans to come up with an entirely novel framework following the expiration of this ad hoc legislature.
German State Treaty on Gaming – which would be comprised of Nordrhein-Westphalen, Rheinland-Pfalz and Hesse beside Schleswig-Holstein – will engage German states in “close dialogue” that would yield a solid set of gambling laws to be placed in effect nation-wide.
Expired in December
Schleswig licenses, that were first handed out in 2012, began expiring in December last year…
…and this was only due to a government-induced alteration that saw the state adopt the State Treaty in 2012, which makes it possible for licenses awarded under previous governmental regime to be rendered invalid through expiration.
A number of political parties in have been pushing for expanded gambling in a more liberal environment. The results of their pledges will be seen this week, on March 21st, when state lawmakers will gather to discuss this new version of the State Treaty.
Liminski’s Letter
The Treaty’s draft was conceived by Secretary of State and head of the State Chancellery of Nordhein-Westphalen, Nathanel Liminski…
…whose letter removes the sports betting licenses cap, among other notable changes such as a ban on in-play betting and a mandatory player monthly spending limit of €1,000.
New licenses should come into effect on January 1st 2020, if the Treaty gets enough and is ratified. This “experimental phase” lasting for a year and a half will be used by ’s states to estimate and assess legislature’s effectiveness.
If the lawmakers find it satisfying, the licenses might remain valid until June 2024.
Previous Failed Attempts
The previous two efforts to force the Treaty have failed…
…first in 2021, it was blocked by challenges against the license cap and five years later, in 2017, lawmakers could not reach a consensus on legislation’s challenges.
Another obstacle with this year’s hearing might be an opposition formed by German sports betting operator association that deems this treaty “unfit for purpose,” criticizing the lack of real updates and significant changes.
Source:
“Schleswig-Holstein proposes online gaming extension bill”, igamingbusiness.com, March 15, 2019.
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Looks like much ado there…Why don’t they just create a single unified license for the entire ? Or has it something to do with their state formation?