According to the Euractiv’s reports, by next year many casinos and gaming halls in Germany will risk losing their licenses. Germany’s gambling law has been in transitional period since 2012. German regulators are now set to implement stricter gambling rules and have the new law implemented in January 2017.
Since the European Court of Justice declared that previous Germany’s regulations did not comply with EU law, necessity for insuring a new legislation appeared bringing uncertainty to the German gambling sector.
“Our entrepreneurs have not had the chance to adapt to the situation, because they are largely uncertain whether they are going to even be able to continue running their operations or employing people,” commented Georg Stecker, the German gaming industry board’s spokesperson.
However, Berlin urban development expert Daniel Buchholz welcomed the change:
“Finally, most of the gambling halls in Berlin and Spandau will have to close! Gambling addiction destroys people and communities. Thanks to strict gaming hall rules in Germany we have been able to stop a new flood of casinos.”
Since July 31, gaming regulators in Berlin have been issuing licences to new operators if their premises are at least 500 metres away from a similar establishment. Based on such and similar rules, thousands of premises in Germany may be closed.
According to Stecker, the changes are alarming as they could penalise operators who, until recently, were not in breach of any regulations.
