Germany Newly Regulated Gambling Market Starts Today

Last updated on February 10th, 2024

Germany starts a new chapter in the state’s gambling scene, after today’s official start of the new Gaming Treaty. Moreover, this process of fully integrating the new gambling legislation started back in October. The point behind the new gambling laws is to impose strict and rigorous measures and restrictions on both gaming and betting providers all throughout the country.

The biggest and most eye-catching change is the new 5.3% taxation on iGaming stakes. This is one of the biggest issues most everyday German players are having with the new gambling laws. Furthermore, the new State Treaty will also restrict online casino table games. Consequently, there will be new limits on online slot spending as well. Sports betting, on the other hand, will have limited availability of all in-play betting.

Germany’s new State Gaming Treaty was received with mixed feelings by the public. And it seems like that is the case for both experts and players. The German Sports Betting Association(DSWV), is one of the institutions that salute and welcome the new regulations. In fact, they are known to be one of the most vocal advocates to severely prosecute unlicensed operators, in recent years. For that matter, the President of DSWV Mathias Dhams said the following about the new Gaming Treaty:

Today Germany is finally taking the step that the rest of the European Union took a long time ago. However, the State Treaty on Gambling must be further developed in order to eliminate the problems that still exist: the artificially limited product selection, cross-provider limits and the excessive taxation must be corrected.

Mathias Dhams – President of DSWV

Moreover, the President of DSWV also hopes that the new Gaming Treaty will serve as protection for the players, above all. Especially from unlicensed operators. For that matter, he further went on by saying:

The licensed companies have a government mandate. They and the DSWV stand for transparent and reliable gambling, they advocate consumer protection, the prevention of gambling addiction and the protection of minors. The German Sports Betting Association is fully behind the goals of the new State Treaty.

Mathias Dhams – President of DSWV

The new gambling legislation is one of the hot topics in Germany for some time now. This is the case ever since the German Bundestag announced that the new Gaming Treaty will begin on July 1st, 2021. Yet, quite contrary to public expectations, these new regulations didn’t exactly improve the already gloomy German gambling scene. Moreover, independent studies such as the one conducted by the Handelsblatt Research Institute, clearly show that the German population is not happy with the new taxes and limits imposed by the Gaming Treaty.

In particular, this study shows that more than 40% of the subjects disagree with the new limitations and higher taxation. And that is definitely not a number that the German Bundestag would want to ignore. So it seems like we will have to wait and see the real end result of the new legislation. Will the Germany new Gaming Treaty backfire, or will it help shape a new and better-organized German gambling market? Only time will tell.