North Rhine-Westphalia unveils plans for live and RNG-powered table games

Regulators in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) have submitted draft legislation to licence and regulate so-called online casino games outside of slots.

The process will see the award of a maximum of five non-poker-based table game licences, each with a maximum term of 10 years.

Licensed games include RNG table games as well as live casino. RNG games will be subject to minimum playing time rules, with live casino games only permitted to be broadcast from within the state itself.

This regulation allows external live casino providers to sign contracts with local operators, with those contracts provided to state regulators. However, any casino location where live casino is broadcast may only be used by one operator.

Licensees will be limited to offering these games to players within the state, which boasts a population of around 18 million, or those outside of North Rhine-Westphalia who have a tax code there.

Licence-holders are required to verify the place of residence of each player on their site.

Prospective licensees will be required to provide information on company holdings and individuals with beneficial interests in the proposed entity.

Applicants will also be required to provide information on game rules and graphical representations, with the games to be certified by an independent testing laboratory.

In return, the licensee will be vetted by NRW officials in cooperation with other German national authorities and wider foreign regulators.

Those operators with existing licences will be required to obtain a separate licence to offer these games within the state, subject to those involved operating a maximum of two sites.

Licences are non-transferrable, and operators can be subject to fines for non-compliance with state regulations, or in serious instances, have their licences revoked.

Player deposit limits and specific authorisation requirements on bonuses and promotions are included in the NRW regulatory restrictions, as is a ban on parallel play and automatic betting.

The licensing of non-poker-based table games is not currently covered under the wider amended German Interstate Treaty on Gambling (IST), which only extends to online slots and poker and went live on 1 July.

As such, the responsibility for this licensing is left up to individual states.

The draft law, which has been submitted to the European Commission for ratification, is currently within its so-called “standstill” period, in which it will be reviewed by EC officials to seek out conflicts with wider EU law.

This review period will end on 5 November. If the EC finds no conflict of interest, the state will be free to launch a tender process, although identified conflicts must be dealt with before that process can commence.