GVC targets German online casino by 2021 following “seismic shift” in opinion
Operator receives commitments to regulatory reform from all sixteen states
GVC Holdings expects the legalisation of online casino gambling in Germany to occur by 2021, following what it called a “seismic shift” in local opinions concerning regulation.
Speaking at the company’s Capital Markets Day, GVC’s group director of legal Rob Hoskin said several states, including Hesse, are changing their positions regarding online gambling licensing and regulation.
The recently revised Interstate Treaty on Gambling failed to lift the ban on online casino.
Hoskin said the larger progressive German state lotteries, which have long seen online gaming operators “as the enemy”, are beginning to see the mutually beneficial commercial advantages of allowing the bigger gambling firms into the market.
He argued lotteries had turned their attentions away from online casino operators towards companies such as Lottoland, which they saw as more of a threat to state-controlled gambling operations.
Setting out the possible regulatory timetable for German regulation, Hoskin said all sixteen German states had committed to provide for the regulation of online gaming in the next two years.
“From our perspective I think we would be disappointed if efforts were made to try and enforce the online gaming prohibition, I think it would be shortsighted and its certainly open to legal challenge, so we’ll wait for the regulations for sports betting licences to come out,” Hoskin added.
When challenged about whether this legalisation would require GVC to turn off online casino gaming to German players during this period, Hoskin said it would be “counterproductive” to do so in allowing black-market operators to target German citizens.
“It wouldn’t be for the benefit of players as casino players would be driven to black-market operators who then wouldn’t be paying taxes and would probably have no intention to apply for licences,” Hoskin said.
Hoskin cited the invalidity of the German ban on online casino gaming, adding that it could “easily be challenged” using the superseding EU law on the free movement of goods and services.