German whitelist indicates no online casino licensees

Under Germany’s Fourth State Treaty on Gambling, the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt has published its “whitelist” of permitted operators, and surprisingly, it includes no licensees for online slots, table games, or poker.

After Germany’s Third State Treaty legalized the vertical, several licensed online sports betting licensees were added to the list. Entain’s Bwin brand, four Tipico subsidiaries, Gauselmann Group’s Cashpoint brand, Bet365, and Tipwin are among the 35 licensees. New operators such as Chilling Cheetah, which operates the Chillybet brand, and Ruleo, which controls Mybet.de, are included.

Most surprising, though, is that the list of approved operators for online slots, online poker, and online table games is entirely blank. The moment 2021 the state treaty (GlüNeuRStv) went into force on July 1, 2021, internet casino games were allowed on the market. However, online lotteries and land-based casinos could only run table games.

While everything seemed good, on the other hand though, the new treaty came with several restrictions worth noting. Some conditions include a €1,000 per month spending cap and a €1 per spin stake cap on slot games. It also includes as well as a 5.3% tax on turnover. Many operators have been highly critical of many of these rules. Germany’s sports betting association, the Deutsche Sportwettenverband (DSWV), argued that the tax rate would go ahead and “jeopardize the success of the new gambling regulation in Germany.”

With that, the DSWV and the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) both went ahead and submitted official state aid complaints with the European Commission. They all claimed that the levy should be considered illegal state aid because it favored the land-based business over the internet sector.

The state, however, did not say how many operators had filed for licenses, if any at all so far.