EGBA recommends relaxations on proposed Germany gambling treaty
Trade body calls for online casinos to be legalised as part of steps to dramatically improve channelisation
The European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) has announced several recommendations for improvements to the proposals outlined for a Third State Treaty on gambling in Germany.
The EGBA’s comments noted that while the regulatory body was pleased with the progress made in developing new legislation, the new proposals in Germany are “inconsistent, overly restrictive and jeopardise the task of developing a fully functioning online gambling market in Germany”.
In a statement, secretary general Maarten Haijer said: “A new online gambling regulation is badly needed in Germany, but these new proposals could make the current regulatory dysfunction even worse.
“An attractive product offer is absolutely essential to achieving a safe and well-channelled gambling environment – but the proposed restrictions would prevent this.”
New online gambling regulation is desperately needed in Germany seeing as the country only had a channelling rate of 1.8% in 2017. By comparison, the UK is 95%.
The EGBA has made key recommendations for Germany, including online casinos to be legalised and a full product range launched to help promote effective channelling. The body also discouraged putting restrictions on types of bets, especially restrictions on live, in-play betting.
The proposed €1,000 maximum deposit would be “difficult to implement on a technical level”, according to the EGBA, which instead proposed the introduction of voluntary deposit limits.
The EGBA disagrees with the proposed waiting times for users switching between operators as it combats the “shop-around” nature of online betting behaviour.
Finally, while the EGBA welcomes the notion of a central regulatory body in Germany, there are concerns regarding how quickly it will take to form and how the future body would impact licensing legislation in the future.