Germany Welcomes Its #8 Legal Slots Operator
The online gambling market in Germany is not a huge one. Yet it just received its eight licensed slots operator.
The status of online casino gaming is different in every country in the world. While some governments are rather lenient when it comes to gambling, others have tight restrictions as well as potential harsh punishments in place for those wanting to get in the business and not play by the rules.
At the moment, Germany is known to be in the process of relaxing its old-fashioned marijuana laws. Alas, the former chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel was running the show behind the scenes for the longest time. Her party, the most conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), was not exactly known for its progressive decision-making or policies. As a result, it is no surprise that the home country of brühwurst has historically been quite restrictive towards online gambling as well.
Today, the national online slots market in Germany consists of eight approved businesses and ten brands. Six of these brands are connected to Gauselmann Group, which is a significant gaming operator in Germany. The other four brands are MyBet, Tipwin, Novomatic, and Jokerstar—the last of which just received its license in August 2022.
The ten licensed brands have all been whitelisted and given permission to operate online on German soil.
Business Growth Still Facing Serious Difficulties
Although Germany now has ten brands that are allowed to operate online, growing a business has not been made easy. For instance, all operators are required to pay 5.3% in taxes for their winnings and they are only allowed to institute €1 maximum bet limits for their games. This is a far cry from some international markets where maximum bets for slots can range anywhere between €100 to €200 per spin. Clearly, not many people make use of these maximum limits, but €1 maximums are still comparatively quite low indeed.
Strict regulation has also raised the bar on companies wanting to enter the igaming business. When potential profits are kept low, it does not really encourage young entrepreneurs to try and spread their wings and have a go at creating memorable new slots.
The regulated German market came into effect a little over a year ago. The regulating body is called Glûcksspielbehörde. For some time now, the agency in question has received criticism for mainly being focused on trying to prevent illegal gambling rather than actually regulating the legal sector.
My Take
It is clear to me that the regulated German slots market is still in its infancy. However, there should be hope that recent changes in the political landscape could change things for the better. After all, in politics, nothing moves fast as there will be plenty of red tapes to be tackled before things can really start to fly. With over 83 million residents, we can only assume that Germany will become a huge play in the international online casino scene in the future.
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