Schleswig-Holstein Advises on Gaming Bill Additions

The German state, Schleswig-Holstein, considers an extension of the legislation on online gambling. It comes after the expiration of licenses in the region. The new bill puts forward the possibility for state operators to continue providing gaming services until the officials issue new licenses. According to the proposed bill, the operators will continue to pay 20% tax rate.

Duration

The proposed license will remain until the end of June 2021. Right after the transition period, Schleswig-Holstein considers developing a new legislation on online gambling. The official report also states:

“Germany’s states are currently engaged in close dialogue to find a solution that would cover and set out regulations for relevant gambling laws.”

The whole action is supported by the politicians in three other states: Hesse, Rheinland-Pfalz and Nordrhein-Westphalen.

Background of Expiration

Online casino operators in Germany work under the State Treaty on Gaming. Starting from 2012, the national body issued a number of licenses to casino providers. Due to the changes in the legislation, the issued licenses started to expire in December 2018. The Schleswig-Holstein’s liberal betting regime is supported by leaders of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Free Democratic Union and Green Party.

Expected Results

Following the arising situation, national lawmakers will meet on March 21, to discuss possible changes. Secretary of State, Nathanel Liminski, has already prepared a draft on upcoming changes. If the Treaty passes the ratification phase, new gambling licenses will come into force on January 2, 2020. During the experimental timeframe up to 2021, federal states could assess the effectiveness of the regulation.

As stated, issued licenses could remain applicable until June 30, 2024, provided that the Treaty fulfils its goals. Meanwhile, operators which offer sports betting services and pay taxes, are allowed to continue the activity until Treaty adoption in 2020.

Treaty Adoption

At the moment, the German Treaty prescribes an outright ban on in-play gambling as well as obligatory spending limit per month of €1,000. These conditions will remain in effect for the upcoming extension.

Commenting on the changes, Liminski said:

“Due to lawmakers’ schedules, the legislation would need to be signed off by mid-April.”

If the Minister-Presidents of 16 states fail to ratify the bill by January 1, 2020, the proposals will become obsolete.

National Endeavours

The recent extension represents third lawmakersˈ attempt to change online gambling legislation. Previously, the local representatives reach no consensus on possible alterations. We expect to see results of initiative in the following weeks. However, it seems that German sports betting association Deutsche Sportwettenverband doesn’t support the proposals. It pinpoints the failure of making important changes of Treaty compared to the 2012 version.

Source:

“Schleswig-Holstein proposes online gaming extension bill“, igamingbusiness.com, March 15, 2019.