Germany to realize GluNeuRStV following North Rhine-Westphalia ratification

In Germany and the New State Treaty on Gambling (GluNeuRStV) is reportedly set to come into full effect from the first day of July following its final ratification earlier this week by legislators for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

According to a Thursday report from iGamingBusiness.com, the move means that every one of the 16 states in Germany has now approved the measure to inaugurate a completely new licensing, regulatory and taxation regime for land-based and online gaming operations across Europe’s most prosperous nation. The source detailed that the GluNeuRStV updates legislation from 2007 and had its draft text approved by all of the country’s governors at a special conference in November.

Desirable debut:

Alongside a raft of other changes, the GluNeuRStV is to reportedly allow gambling aficionados in Germany to legally enjoy online casinos for the very first time under a strict set of licensing conditions that will oblige iGaming operators to apply a variety of player protection measures. These are to purportedly include €1 ($1.20) maximum individual stake limits on video slots, the removal of live-dealer games and the implementation of a €1,000 ($1,206) monthly deposit cap.

Sensible safeguards:

The GluNeuRStV is to moreover reportedly mandate average five-second spin speeds for all video slots, bring in a series of cooling-off periods and limit sportsbetting to final and next goal scorer markets. Licensed operators are to purportedly also be required to pay a 5.3% tax on all online poker and slot revenues, which is a rate Flutter Entertainment, Entain and Greentube recently warned could lead to a channelization rate of just 51%.

Stable supremacy:

Regarding lottery and the GluNeuRStV will reportedly permits states to extend their existing monopolies and potentially roll this domination out to a range of lucrative table games. Jurgen Hafner serves as Chairman for the Deutscher Lotto und Totoblock (DLTB) trade group and he earlier told iGamingBusiness.com that he is a supporter of the new legislation as it shows the current federal regulatory model ‘works very well’.

Retail rules:

For land-based establishments across Germany and the GluNeuRStV reportedly furthermore allows states to issue multiple slot and gaming hall licenses while remaining in charge of their own minimum distancing requirements. Georg Stecker, spokesperson for the Deutsche Automatenwirtschaft (DAW) trade group, purportedly hailed the passage of the new legislation following ‘years of intensive negotiations’ before noting that it brings qualitative criteria to the country’s licensing process for the very first time.

Indicative achievement:

Armin Laschet (pictured) serves as the Minister-President for North Rhine-Westphalia and he reportedly described the passage of the GluNeuRStV as ‘a Herculean task’ that had taken into account ‘the conflicting interests, needs and concerns for the benefit of all 16 states’.

Reportedly read a statement from Laschet…

“This state treaty was a Herculean task and, as a result, is a strong sign of how federalism lives and functions in Germany and how it comes to the right results through sometimes arduous negotiations. A joint effort was made to solve a problem that had seemed unsolvable for years.”