Germany passes online casino and poker regulations, to come into force July 2021

The German parliament has approved gambling regulations, set to come into force from July 2021. The GlüNeuRStv will now need to be ratified by each of the 16 federal state parliaments, and then submitted to the European Commission for approval, before the regulations can be introduced.

The new regulations will expand what is allowed in Germany iGaming for the first time, legalizing both online poker and casino. Sports betting will remain legal as it already is.

As for restrictions, according to reports in the media, players will still be subjected to a €1,000 monthly deposit, with in-play betting limited to the final result and next goalscorer. The proposed advertising blackout will also stay in place. Between 6am and 9pm each day, operators won’t be allowed to promote themselves via broadcast media. This move has been criticised within Germany before, with media company VAUNET being one such disapprover. The firm believes that this will both fail to channel players to regulated brands and be costly for revenue too.

The new legislation will replace the current temporary laws, which are effective until next July. These were introduced in January 2020.

As of yet, Hesse – the state responsible for accepting licence applications – still hasn’t handed out its first of these. Last month, it said that 30 applications had been received – with 20 more operators signalling their intentions to apply.

A new gambling regulator will be established in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. Nordrhein-Westfalen, Schleswig-Holstein, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse were all reportedly interested in hosting this body.