New German eGaming Proposal is not Promising

The German nation is a proud nation of avid gamblers that offers land-based gambling facilities in huge casino resorts and smaller wagering establishments.

The country has the largest population and biggest economy out of all European Union Member States, and it functions as a parliamentary republic of sixteen states that together form one of the most influential countries in European Union and world politics.

Now, fifteen of the sixteen German states have brought forward a joint proposal for regulating online gambling. Their proposal includes imposing a 16.66% turnover tax, that is greatly frowned upon by industry leaders as turnover taxes tend to cripple operators and are not an even and fair way of taxing operators.

Most operators prefer gross profits taxes to turnover taxes as they tend to be more proportionate to the revenues generated by the operators and are considered to be fair.

Another disturbing aspect of the new proposal is the deregulation of all forms of gambling other than sports betting and the provision of up to seven sports betting licenses and the complete banning of all other forms of gambling.

In addition a proposed five-year "test period" to be imposed on each license owner is the final nail in the coffin on what seems to be one of the most unfair pieces of legislation offered from the point of view of operators.

This draft legislation also stands in strict contrast with the recently approved by the European Commission draft eGaming bill from Schleswig-Holstein; the one German state that is not part of the fifteen states that supported this proposal.

The legislation that the 15 states propose is unlikely to be in accordance with EU laws due to its many restrictions and it looks like these fifteen states will need to find another solution for regulating online gambling within their respective states.